Red-light cameras in Rome have been shut down since Dec. 31. (File, Ryan Smith, RN-T.com)
Public Services Director Kirk Milam said Wednesday the cameras were shut off at midnight on Dec. 31 after Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. declined to renew its contract with the city.
Cameras were installed at the corner of Turner McCall Boulevard and Hicks Drive in 2004, and a pair was added two years ago at the intersection of Martha Berry and Veterans Memorial highways.
But revenue from the $70 fines dropped sharply when a 2008 law sponsored by then-state Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, put tougher restrictions on how the cameras could be used to catch drivers running red lights.
The Hicks Drive cameras alone generated more than $17,000 a month in 2007, but last year Redflex was barely clearing the $4,200 a month it promised to the city.
“We covered our costs, but we didn’t cover theirs,” Rome City Manager John Bennett said.
The company also ended its
contracts to provide camera equipment, software and photo processing for the cities of Thomasville and Brunswick, Bennett said, although deals with Savannah and Griffin were renewed.
Rome officials contended the cameras reduced dangerous T-bone crashes. To keep them running after the new law kicked in, the City Commission accepted a renegotiated contract that essentially gave Redflex all the revenue above the police department’s cost of writing the tickets.
Click here to view a previous report on the city's camera enforcement system.
Redflex crews are expected to remove the equipment by the end of the month, and it is unclear if the city will seek a contract with a different vendor. Commissioner Buzz Wachsteter, public works committee chair, tabled the discussion for at least 90 days to allow enough time to compare safety statistics before and after the cameras’ removal.
Milam said he’s been able to show the safety benefits of the cameras in annual permit applications to the Georgia Department of Transportation — another requirement of the law — but the reviews are increasingly rigorous.
Also on Wednesday, the public works committee recommended raising the price to charter the Toonerville Trolley. The full City Commission is slated to vote on the changes at its Jan. 18 meeting.
If approved, the minimum cost would rise on Feb. 1 to $200 from $150 for a two-hour trip and the base price for holiday rentals would jump to $300 from $200. Charges also would be added if coolers or decorations are part of the excursion.
The old trolley is unreliable and parts are scarce, so officials are trying to limit its use. An earlier resolution adopted by the board bars its rental for wedding parties because of the effect a breakdown could have on the celebration.
Milam and Transit Director Kathy Shealy are working on a proposal to buy a replica trolley with grant funds and operate a regular route in the downtown district.
Those cameras are for traffic control. Mark125 said it correctly, the cameras replace older-style signal synchronization equipment that has to be embedded under the road.
Imagine you are driving in a downpour or in icy conditions, or possibly driving while being tailgated and the light suddenly changes. You are on the edge of a safe stopping distance and you must decide whether or not to slam on the brakes and risk an accident or cross the intersection just as the light turns red.
Now the corresponding green light in the other direction will not occur for a second or two. So, you decide to go through the light, which is the safer option. A police officer witnesses what occurred and deduces that you made a wise decision. Thus he does not pull you over. A human being is able to exercise JUDGEMENT and DISCRETION. A camera is not.
I do not want the government watching me with cameras. If in your opinion, that makes me ignorant or an idiot, then I must question your cognitive abilities. I am not advocating blatant red light running. One would have to run the light at least 3 seconds after it turns red to cause an accident.
How many cars run the light that blatantly? Very few I would surmise, because thousands of cars traverse the two interestions where the red light cameras are placed with a minute percentage involved in accidents.
Now do you want to join the discussion with actual points of contention or do you want to continue to call me an idiot?
I think there was a study done on one of the tv news stations that many of the places putting in the cameras shortened the yellow to catch more people and raise more money. That doesn't sound like something you would do if you were interested in safety.
Thank you Rep. Laudermilk. You just secured my vote for life!