Red Light Cameras

GLENDALE — The city is on pace to unveil a new traffic enforcement tool at the start of 2008: red-light cameras. After getting the green light from the City Council in March, traffic officials are now working with a contractor to install the cameras, said Jano Baghdanian, an administrator for the Traffic and Transportation Division of Glendale’s Public Works Department. The city will soon roll out an outreach campaign to make the public aware when cameras are in place and operating.

I am writing regarding the Nov. 11 article titled “Cameras become flash point.” I completely agree with City Councilman Ara Najarian. Red-light cameras do a lot of good in our streets. It is as if a police officer is standing there and making sure that no one neglects the law. Personally, my life was threatened by a driver who completely ignored and missed the red light. One day, as I was driving on North Verdugo Road, I was almost struck by a motorist who passed the red light.

CITY HALL — The City Council on Tuesday renewed a red-light-camera program, and authorized officials to expand the network to up to 10 other intersections. Under the agreement, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. will continue to operate the red-light cameras for another five years while police officials evaluate whether to install the monitoring equipment — which photographs motorists violating traffic laws at four intersections in the city — to other area problem areas.

GLENDALE ? Police will stop issuing warnings and start giving tickets on Monday to motorists who violate traffic laws at the red-light-camera-monitored intersection of San Fernando and Los Feliz roads. That Monday marks the end of a 30-day grace period at the intersection, Glendale police Sgt. Dennis Smith said. ?There have been quite a few warnings issued at that intersection,? Smith said. ?The intersection is pretty active.? Under California law, motorists must be given a grace period before citations are issued at a camera-monitored intersection, Smith said.

I have been watching the current City Council campaign with interest. To say that I am very concerned by the statements being made by the candidates, including my colleagues, would be an understatement. So I’ve decided to write commentaries to the Glendale News-Press on what I believe to be facts and not fiction. For today’s commentary, I would like to address the traffic issue that is now seemingly becoming a major campaign talking point (“Forum focus is traffic safety,” Feb. 23)

o7Here are a few items the council considered Tuesday. f7 RED-LIGHT CAMERAS The council voted to send a response to a May 31 Orange County Grand Jury report on the effectiveness of red-light cameras. The response said the city will begin matching state Department of Motor Vehicles photos to pictures taken by the cameras to help collect fines. City officials also said the cameras have helped reduce broadside collisions in the city. WHAT IT MEANS The city will send the response to the county, and more cameras could be added in Costa Mesa, pending the results of a financial analysis of revenue from the cameras.

The city of Costa Mesa may add more cameras to snap pictures of drivers who run red lights, although officials still aren't sure how much money comes in from tickets issued using the cameras. The city's response to a May 31 Orange County Grand Jury report says Costa Mesa is considering more cameras, and the city also will take more steps to get drivers who are ticketed to pay. The Costa Mesa City Council was scheduled to vote late Tuesday on whether to send the response, which is required by Aug. 29. The 16-member grand jury examined red-light camera use in five cities -- Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Fullerton, Santa Ana and San Juan Capistrano -- to evaluate their effectiveness in promoting safety and generating revenue.

Change could help workers' plight I was at the protest outside the Hilton Glendale on Thursday, described as an alternative prayer breakfast ("Protesters greet guests at prayer breakfast," Friday). I was very moved by it, and proud to stand with the workers and clergy outside rather than the self-satisfied movers and shakers inside the building. It should be noted that the Hilton Glendale is not managed by Hilton; it is owned and operated by Eagle Hospitality, which has treated the workers' efforts to organize with fury and contempt for a year and a half.

CITY HALL ? Councilman Bob Yousefian called Tuesday night for the City Council to again examine the issue of traffic enforcement cameras, claiming that speeding and reckless driving have become endemic in Glendale. The council last considered using cameras to catch drivers who run red lights in February 2002 at the request of Councilman Dave Weaver. They opted against the devices because of the expense and the fact that such cameras were being challenged in court at the time. The cameras would have cost $200,000 per intersection with four traffic lights.

While reading the article about Habitat for Humanity (“Nonprofit builds homes for 5 families,” June 5), I couldn’t believe what I read. First of all, to build 6,250 square feet with mostly donated labor for $1.1 million is out of line, and what’s even worse is that the city would pay $2.5 million for a lot. I happen to have a 6,800-square-foot building on about an 8,000-square-foot lot and the value is about $1 million. With all the vacant apartments and buildings for sale, wouldn’t it be more feasible to buy an existing building for a lot less?

Should we take at face value the comments by Glendale Police Capt. Carl Povilaitis indicating that the red-light camera program was not cost-effective (“ Police shut down red-light camera program ,” March 14)? If the reasoning behind installing the cameras was to improve traffic safety and the article mentions that citations dropped by half due to motorists being more mindful of traffic safety, then the logical conclusion is that a successful program should remain. So what gives?

Glendale police will no longerissue citations for red-light violations caught by cameras set up at four intersections throughout the city, officials said. The decision, which took effect Feb. 24, was made because the program had become a burden on resources, and police needed the officer assigned to reviewing violations out in the field, officials said. In short, the nearly 4-year-old red-light camera program became “cumbersome” and not “the best use of our resources,” Capt.

Good news for motorists slapped with red-light tickets in Los Angeles. If you got the citation under the city's controversial camera program , you can ignore your ticket. You read that right. After a three-hour City Council committee hearing Monday on the future of the much-debated photo enforcement system, the session ended with a recommendation to stop issuing citations at the end of the month and "phase out" the program. The tickets are part of a "voluntary payment program" without sanctions for those who fail to submit fines, said Richard M. Tefank, executive director of the city's Board of Police Commissioners.

While reading the article about Habitat for Humanity (“Nonprofit builds homes for 5 families,” June 5), I couldn’t believe what I read. First of all, to build 6,250 square feet with mostly donated labor for $1.1 million is out of line, and what’s even worse is that the city would pay $2.5 million for a lot. I happen to have a 6,800-square-foot building on about an 8,000-square-foot lot and the value is about $1 million. With all the vacant apartments and buildings for sale, wouldn’t it be more feasible to buy an existing building for a lot less?

I am writing regarding the Nov. 11 article titled “Cameras become flash point.” I completely agree with City Councilman Ara Najarian. Red-light cameras do a lot of good in our streets. It is as if a police officer is standing there and making sure that no one neglects the law. Personally, my life was threatened by a driver who completely ignored and missed the red light. One day, as I was driving on North Verdugo Road, I was almost struck by a motorist who passed the red light.

PUBLIC SAFETY The City Council on Tuesday renewed a red-light-camera program, and authorized officials to expand the network to up to 10 other intersections. Under the agreement, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. will continue to operate the red-light cameras for another five years while police officials evaluate whether to install the monitoring equipment — which photographs motorists violating traffic laws at four intersections in the city — to other problem areas.

CITY HALL — The City Council on Tuesday renewed a red-light-camera program, and authorized officials to expand the network to up to 10 other intersections. Under the agreement, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. will continue to operate the red-light cameras for another five years while police officials evaluate whether to install the monitoring equipment — which photographs motorists violating traffic laws at four intersections in the city — to other area problem areas.

GLENDALE — Council members extended a contract Tuesday for another six months with a company that monitors red-light cameras that photograph motorists violating traffic laws at four intersections in the city after seeing a dramatic decrease in violations. Since the cameras went online in July, the number of tickets has decreased, Councilman Bob Yousefian said during Tuesday’s council meeting. “The idea isn’t to give them tickets,” he said. “The idea is for them to be careful, so they don’t get it.” At the Colorado Street and Pacific Avenue camera-monitored intersection, 102 tickets were issued in July, while only 69 were given in January.

I have been watching the current City Council campaign with interest. To say that I am very concerned by the statements being made by the candidates, including my colleagues, would be an understatement. So I’ve decided to write commentaries to the Glendale News-Press on what I believe to be facts and not fiction. For today’s commentary, I would like to address the traffic issue that is now seemingly becoming a major campaign talking point (“Forum focus is traffic safety,” Feb. 23)

GLENDALE ? Police will stop issuing warnings and start giving tickets on Monday to motorists who violate traffic laws at the red-light-camera-monitored intersection of San Fernando and Los Feliz roads. That Monday marks the end of a 30-day grace period at the intersection, Glendale police Sgt. Dennis Smith said. ?There have been quite a few warnings issued at that intersection,? Smith said. ?The intersection is pretty active.? Under California law, motorists must be given a grace period before citations are issued at a camera-monitored intersection, Smith said.