Red Light Cameras

The current reason going for red light cameras is to reduce accidents and promote safety. The side bet is that the city gets more money in speeding tickets without the need for a physical person being there to catch you in the act. Everything one thinks this is a win-win situation.

However, these are other issues to consider. The red light cameras places another variable into a motorist decision-making ability. Does the driver abruptly slam the brakes and risk a collision, or cruise through the intersection wrong by just 12 inches that cannot cause the accident? How is a red light violation determined? What if your vehicle was slightly pass the white line, are you liable to be penalized for that? I would not be surpised that most violations that do occur will be split-second violations. These "technical" violations are going to be the cash cow of cameras.

What if you were approaching a red light and it was about to turn green? At some intersections, drivers could notice the cross intersection traffic lights, and they will, by habit, speed up to catch the traffic light the moment it turns green. Again, this would constitute a split-second violation.

Honestly, by installing traffic cameras everywhere we install an inflexible rule on all drivers, and I think this would likely bring about an increase in accidents, not reduce them. For the city of Cleveland, it is not about safety, but money. This is one way for them to increase their revenue stream, and I don't think you'll see more money for the city police force. I would say the mayor would tout the benefits of it and say "Hey! We got the budget balanced, or a slight surplus, and we can cut your taxes!"

Here is the current list so far:

Shaker Blvd at Shaker Square (Northwest quadrant)
Chester Ave at Euclid Ave
West Blvd at North Marginal Road
Shaker Blvd and East 116t St
West Blvd at I-90 ramp
Chester Ave at East 71st St
East 55th St at Carnegie Ave
East 131st St at Harvard Ave
Carnegie Ave at East 30th St
Cedar Ave at Murray Hill Rd
Grayton Rd at I-480 ramp
Euclid Ave at Mayfield Rd
Warren Rd at I-90 ramp
Prospect Ave at East 40th St
East 116th St at Union Ave
I-90 and West 41st St
I-90 and West 44th St
Pearl Rd at Biddulph Rd
Carnegie Ave at East 100th St
Carnegie Ave at Martin Luther King Jr Drive
Memphis Ave at Fulton Rd
Lake Shore Blvd at East 159th St
St. Clair Ave at London Rd

Locations for cameras to catch speeders:

Clifton Blvd between West 100th and West 104th streets
Chester Ave between East 55th and East 40th streets
Woodland Ave between East 66th and East 71st streets
West Blvd between I-90 ramp and Madison Ave
Broadway between Harvard and Miles avenues
Lee Rd between Tarkington Ave and I-480 ramp

At Case:

Chester Avenue at Euclid Avenue
Cedar Road at Murray Hill Road
Euclid Avenue at Mayfield Road
Carnegie Avenue at East 100th Street
Carnegie Avenue at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive

So what solutions can we offer? How about lengthening the yellow light cycle by a second or two? Or how about synchronizing the traffic lights along the major roads heading towards downtown Cleveland? There was a time when Chester Road was terrible with this and this was mostly fixed a few years ago. It keep the traffic flow going and you reduce the tendency of drivers to try to speed up to avoid the next traffic light from quickly changing to red.

For those that heavy pedestrian traffic, install flashing light poles at either end of the sidewalk. This way drivers know that they are approaching an active pedestrian crosswalk. Use highlighted white paint so the car light would emphasize the color, then by instinct, the driver would slow down.

For late nights, I don't think the major traffic lights along Cedar Road should turn from the standard green > yellow > red to the blinking yellow / red configuration. That's used for minor and side streets. This usually entice drivers to speed up quickly, and this would increase the chances of an accident. Another idea is for Euclid Blvd to install speed bumps at the Adelbert/Euclid and the Cornell/Euclid intersections. I know it's a pain but it does slow down the traffic, and that's where you usually get a high rate of students crossing the road to get to class.

Red light cameras are somewhat of a good idea, but I don't think we need to install them everywhere. The only places that require them are those that have high-risk accidents. Then after a while, they should be taken out. I think by leaving an empty redlight camera box, the drivers would not even know whether it is real or not.

National Motorists Association - Red Light Cameras

Wiki - Road-rule enforcement camera

Speed camera problems for Trucks