Dayton Business Journal, Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The city of Dayton, Ohio took the first step to levying fines against speeders by using red-light cameras spread across the city. Dayton City Commission on Wednesday heard the first reading of an ordinance that would add speed enforcement capabilities to cameras currently used to catch those running red lights at 10 high-traffic intersections. If approved, violators would face civil penalties and an $85 fine for each offense. Installation of speed monitoring software on some or all of Dayton’s traffic control cameras would be complete within 90 days. City officials say the move is intended to reduce speeding on city streets in order to make roadways safer for drivers and pedestrians.
A spokesperson said the city does not have an estimate of the revenue that would be generated by speeding tickets from the cameras. The city declined to release information about how much faster than the speed limit drivers could go before getting a ticket at the intersections.
The intersections affected include:
• Smithville Road at Patterson Road;
• Third Street at Edwin C. Moses Boulevard;
• Troy Street at Stanley Avenue;
• Third Street at James H. McGee Boulevard;
• Gettysburg Avenue at Cornell Drive.
• Main Street at Hillcrest Avenue;
• US 35 at Abbey Avenue;
• Salem Avenue at North Avenue; and
• Salem Avenue at Hillcrest Avenue.
Dayton’s first traffic control camera to detect vehicles running through red lights was installed in early 2003, and a total of 20 cameras at 10 intersections have been in use since mid-2005. Since the installation of the cameras, traffic accidents at camera-enforced intersections have declined by 44 percent, according to city officials. The cameras have generated nearly $1.4 million in fines. The traffic control cameras in Dayton are owned and operated by RedFlex Traffic Systems Inc., in cooperation with the Dayton Police Department.
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