Red-light camera to be tested for positioning

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

Those first flashes will help the contractor position the cameras correctly. Once that's done, the city will announce a 30-day warning period; after that, the photos of red-light runners and those speeding through intersections will result in tickets.

First and 10th is the first intersection with the cameras. Plans call for them to go in at about eight more intersections and at a spot on Interstate 380 (speeding only). A mobile speed-enforcement camera will be used, too.

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

In fact, several states - Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, West Virginia and Wisconsin - have banned the cameras.

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

The intersections in which the cameras will go up in Cedar Rapids, he emphasized, are the very same ones where data show an inordinate number of side crashes and crash injuries happen.

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

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

He said the contract with vendor Gatso USA is for four years, and the city will pull the cameras out if they don't reduce crashes as they're expected to do in that time.

The city and the vendor will split the revenue generated, with the city getting $70 per red-light ticket and the vendor $30. The city gets a larger share for speeding tickets as the severity of the violation 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.