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Traffic camera contract is headed for defeat By Kelly J. Kaczala Press News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com Northwood City Council on May 9 will decide whether or not to keep automated photo speed and red light enforcement cameras at two intersections. As of The Press’s deadline on Thursday, May 2, the vote is expected to be 4-3 against the cameras. Council approved a contract with Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc., of Arizona, in 2005 to install and operate the cameras at the intersections of Woodville and Lemoyne roads, and Wales and Oregon roads. The current three year contract with the company expired on April 23. The city and Redflex share a percentage of the revenue from traffic citations issued as a result of the cameras, which have caught thousands of motorists speeding or going through red lights since they were installed. Fines are $110. Violators do not get points on their licenses In 2010, Councilmen Jim Barton, Mike Myers, Connie Hughes, and Dave Gallaher voted in favor of renewing the contract, while Councilmen Ed Schimmel, Dean Edwards, and Randy Kozina were opposed. This time, Barton is not in favor of renewing the contract. His swing vote will put an end to the operation of the cameras. Barton told The Press that he is now opposed because the “rationale for the cameras has gone from safety to revenue.” “My support for the cameras was based on assurances that the revenue would be used for safety,” said Barton. “However, I now feel that we are in a situation where the camera revenue is being used more as a revenue source than for safety.” He cited as an example the city’s purchase of a salt dome for $211,395 with Redflex funds. “I can assure you that we would have put salt on our roads with or without that dome,” he said. “It becomes a concern when the wants become more important than the needs.” Edwards agrees. The cameras, he said, is “looked at as a money maker for the city.” In addition, he believes some motorists avoid the intersections, which in turn hurt business. “I believe they have chased Woodville Road traffic away, which could be a factor in the lack of business on Woodville Road,”
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This may be one of the largest farmland-to-coastal wetland restorations in many decades... Roy Kroll See page 12
Accidents at the Wales & Oregon roads intersection 2012: 9 crashes, 3 injuries 2011: 11 crashes, 3 injuries 2010: 11 crashes, 1 injury 2009: 7 crashes, 1 injury (less traffic due to closure of I-75 ramp)
2008: 16 crashes, 1 injury 2007: 13 crashes, 2 injuries 2006: 18 crashes, 1 injury
Traffic camera fees/revenue 2012: 2011: 2010: 2009: 2008: 2007: 2006: 2005:
$161,452 $160,013 $63,220 $36,506 $48,455 $65,186 $175,268 $279,597
(fewer crashes due to new right turn lane at Wales Road)
2005: 28 crashes, 4 injuries 2004: 22 crashes, no injuries 2003: 33 crashes, 3 injuries
Accidents at the Woodville & Lemoyne roads intersection 2012: 13 crashes, 3 injuries 2011: 16 crashes, 5 injuries 2010: 8 crashes, 1 injury 2009: 17 crashes, 2 injuries 2008: 15 crashes, 3 injuries 2007: 15 crashes, 4 injuries 2006: 13 crashes, 3 injuries 2005: 20 crashes, 3 injuries 2004: 13 crashes, 5 injuries (less traffic due to resurfacing of Woodville Road)
2003: 21 crashes, 4 injuries Source: Northwood Police Dept.
In Ohio
Bill 69 would ban traffic cameras By Kelly J. Kaczala Press News Editor kaczala@presspublications.com
A proposed bill with bi-partisan support in the Ohio Legislature would, if passed, ban the use of traffic cameras to detect red light and speed limit violations. Rep. Ron Hood, R-Ashville, Rep. Ron Maag, R-Lebanon, and Rep. Dale Mallory, D-Cincinnati, are sponsoring House Bill 69. Hood, in a statement on his website, said the traffic cameras are often installed “as a money-grab for local governments.” “The primary purpose of issuing fines should be to punish people who violate the law, not as a source or revenue,” stated Hood. He cited studies that showed accidents increased at some intersections where cameras are installed. “A 2004 study conducted by North Carolina A&T State University…found no change in single accidents and large increases in rear-end crashes and many other types of crashes relative to other intersections,” he stated.
The legislators introduced the bill soon after a Hamilton County Common Pleas Court judge ruled in March that speed enforcement cameras in Elmwood Place, a small village of about 2,000 in southwest Ohio, violated citizens’ due process rights. Judge Robert Ruehlman, in his ruling, stated that the cameras are not calibrated by a certified police officer, but rather by the company that owns the cameras, which has a financial stake in the game. “It is a scam that the motorists can’t win. The entire case against the motorists is stacked because the speed monitoring device is controlled by the company,” said Ruehlman in his ruling. Supporters of the cameras are fighting back. The Traffic Safety Coalition issued a statement last month urging legislators to oppose House Bill 69. The group noted there were several cities in Ohio that saw a reduction in crashes due to the use of traffic cameras. One of the cities cited was Toledo, which saw a 39 percent reduction in fatal red light running crashes. “State leaders should be encouraging
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more cities to use cameras as a tool to reduce injury and death on our roadways,” stated the group. Northwood Mayor Mark Stoner, who is fighting council to keep traffic cameras at two intersections, said he plans to lobby the Legislature to defeat the bill. Although some opponents of the cameras have cited studies showing the cameras in some communities may increase accidents at intersections, local statistics show the cameras lower the accident rate in Northwood. Stoner and former Administrator Pat Bacon were successful years ago when they traveled to Columbus after learning that Congress had withdrew funding for the Wales Road overpass project. They were able to get support from the Transportation Review Advisory Council, which pledged to cover the shortfall in funding. If council renews its contract for the traffic cameras, Stoner said he will go to Columbus with Administrator Bob Anderson and Police Chief Tom Cairl to oppose House Bill 69. “I would give it a shot,” said Stoner. “You got to make your voice heard.”