Strange flashes as soon as Tuesday at First Avenue East and 10th Street will signal red-light cameras' arrival; Capt. O'Konek easily defends camera use

The first flashes from the first of the city's brand-new red-light enforcement cameras may go off as soon as Tuesday at the first intersection with the cameras, First Avenue East and 10th Street, Capt. Steve O'Konek, said on Monday.

The first flashes will help the city's contractor position the cameras correctly, and the flashes after that will be photos of real red-light runners and those speeding through the intersection.

Once correctly positioned, the city will announce a 30-day warning period, and after that the photos will result in tickets. The plan now is for cameras to go in at some eight intersections and at a spot on Interstate 380 (speeding only) and to have a mobile speed-enforcement camera in place, too.

O'Konek has been the city's point man on the enforcement cameras for more than a year now, and on Monday, he effortlessly defended the use of the cameras even as national newspaper USA Today carried a front-page story reporting that some communities are giving up on their red-light cameras.

In fact, several states – Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, West Virginia and Wisconsin – have banned the cameras, according to USA Today.

O'Konek said a backlash against the cameras has come because some cities have used the cameras for raising revenue, not reducing crashes.

O'Konek said the intersections in which the cameras go up in Cedar Rapids are the very same ones in which the city experiences an inordinate number of side crashes and crash injuries.

The cameras, he said, also are intended to change driver behavior in Cedar Rapids.

 “A red signal means stop, it doesn't mean floor it and go through,” O'Konek said.

O'Konek said the city's contract with vendor Gatso USA is for four years, and he said the city will pull the cameras out of the city if they don't reduce crashes as the city expects them to do.

The city and the vendor will split the revenue generated by the cameras with the city getting $70 per red-light ticket and the vendor, $30. The city gets a larger share of speeding tickets as the severity of the offense increases. The vendor owns, operates and maintains the equipment.

A Cedar Rapids police officer will review each violation before a citation is issued, and O'Konek said an appeals system will be established.