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Friday, March 19, 2010

Cameras Ordered Removed

FOR THE RECORD: This story should have included the intersection of Coors and Central as being among those affected by a state ban on red-light enforcement cameras. Other Albuquerque intersections affected are Paseo del Norte and Jefferson, Paseo and Coors, Coors and Ellison, Coors and Montaño and Coors and Sequoia.

By Jeff Proctor
Copyright © 2010 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Staff Writer
          The state Transportation Commission slammed the brakes on red light camera programs around New Mexico on Thursday, banning their use on state or federal highways.
   

Affected cameras   Here is a list of the locations of red light cameras and speed vans that will be affected by the state Transportation Commission's decision: Albuquerque: I-25 and I-40 Coors Boulevard Paseo del Norte Santa Fe: Cerrillos Road St. Francis Road St. Michael's Road Las Cruces: U.S. 70 S. Valley Drive Source: Department of Transportation

    The commission's unanimous vote means Albuquerque must dismantle five of its 20 cameras within 60 days. It would eliminate half of the cameras in Las Cruces and all of the planned cameras in Santa Fe.
        The commission also banned camera-equipped vans from state and federal highways in New Mexico.
        The decision stemmed, in part, from questions about the effectiveness of the cameras, Commission Chairman Johnny Cope said.
        "There seems to be many competing studies out there that make confusing claims about the efficacy of the devices currently in use," he said in a news release. "While the true safety impact of the use of these cameras is still murky at best, one thing has become clear to the commission — more and more New Mexico cities seem to be putting driver-generated revenues ahead of sound traffic management techniques; frankly, that concept really troubles me."
        The most recent study in Albuquerque found a 39 percent reduction in crashes at four intersections equipped with the cameras.
        In Albuquerque, the ban applies to cameras at Paseo del Norte and Jefferson, Paseo and Coors, Coors and Ellison, Coors and Central, Coors and Montaño, and Coors and Sequoia.
        For Santa Fe, the state's decision all but kills that's city's program, Mayor David Coss said. The city has been planning to install four cameras on state-owned Cerrillos Road.
        Two of Las Cruces' four red light cameras are on state roads. Other cities considering starting a camera program are Española and Rio Rancho.
        Albuquerque officials, amid persistent questions about the program, have contracted with the University of New Mexico to study whether the cameras have been effective in making the city's streets safer overall.
        Transportation Department spokesman Mark Slimp said the commission has been discussing the camera issue for a few months.
        "We were aware of various cities wanting to install cameras, and some wanted to do so on our right of ways," Slimp said. "...We're not trying to take any rights away from cities, as long as the cameras are not on state or federal roadways."
        Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry declined comment Thursday, saying he wanted to first see a written copy of the rule.
        "If they come through with a rule, I'll put my policy and public safety teams on it," the mayor said in a telephone interview from San Jose, Calif., where he was attending the UNM basketball game.
        He may have to do so quickly.
        Slimp said the policy was in effect as of Thursday, and Transportation Secretary Gary Girón was quoted in the news release as saying cities have 60 days to remove any cameras on state or federal roads.
        Opponents have blasted Albuquerque's cameras, installed six years ago under then-Mayor Martin Chavez, saying the program was more of a money-grab than a life-saver.
        The Albuquerque traffic cameras generated about $8.6 million in revenue last fiscal year. Redflex, the Arizona company that administers the program, received about half of that. The state and city share the remainder.
        Albuquerque city councilors, state legislators and others have questioned the accuracy of camera studies conducted by the city, including the most recent one in 2008 that officials said showed crashes in four camera intersections declined nearly 40 percent since the cameras went up.
        That study came after the city released numbers in 2007 claiming a dramatic drop in "Level I trauma cases" at camera intersections. Officials later conceded those numbers were based on projections and pulled them off the city's Web site.
        Gov. Bill Richardson in 2008 said he was "generally opposed to the Big Brother aspect of this program."
        He said he also was concerned about the potential for excessive fines that allow a private company to profit from traffic citations.
       

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