The money-making allure of red light cameras has worn off in a pair of Southern California cities as drivers get educated and ticket revenue drops and legal activity rises. In Moreno Valley on Tuesday, the city council voted 3-1 to shut down the automated ticketing machines that have been operating since 2008.
“Due to legal activities in the state legislature in the past few years regarding red light photo enforcement and the lack of public support for the program, city council’s consensus is to discontinue the existing red light photo enforcement service at the end of its 2-year pilot program,” Public Works Director Chris A. Vogt wrote in a memo to the mayor and council. At least one member of the public believed the council’s unspoken motivation has been the lack of expected revenue being generated by the program.
The city will notify Redflex Traffic Systems to remove its equipment from Frederick Street at Centerpoint Drive, and Perris at Alessandro boulevards. Eric Lewis, the city's traffic engineer, evaluated the data and said the 18-month test program was successful: Accidents dropped by a third at Frederick/Centerpoint and 16 percent at the Perris/Alessandro. But the program proved to be a marginal moneymaker, the public detested it and the council decided it wasn't worth it.