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Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Monday, June 29, 2009
Red Light Cameras, 'Speed Van' Almost Here
By Kiera Hay
Journal Staff Writer
Smile, Santa Fe. You're about to be on not-so-candid camera.
A program intended to catch Santa Fe's traffic scofflaws with cameras will likely kick off next month with the help of a mobile speed van.
That will be followed with cameras at four traffic lights along Cerrillos Road, the first set to begin operation in September.
"I think it's been publicized. We think it's going to be a safety benefit to the city. People think it's a moneymaking (scheme) but if you don't want to contribute, then watch your speed limit and watch the red lights," said Santa Fe Police Capt. Anthony Robbin, the program's organizer.
Robbin said he expects to receive the "speed van" — a Ford Escape hybrid — this week or next. It should be ready to go by mid-July, though there will be a 30-day grace period before citations requiring payment are issued.
The first red light camera, targeting speeders as well as red light runners, is scheduled to be up and running at the intersection of Cerrillos and St. Michael's Drive in September. That will soon be followed by cameras at Cerrillos and Richards Avenue, and Cerrillos and Zafarano Street.
A camera at Cerrillos and St. Francis Drive may take slightly longer to install, due to complications involving the Rail Runner commuter train, which chugs through that intersection. Still, the wait shouldn't go past October.
Robbin noted that drivers won't be ticketed unless they enter an intersection after the light has already turned red.
Unlike with the speed van, city officials are undecided about whether to have a grace period for the red light cameras. It's possible there may a 30-day transition period only for the Cerrillos/St. Mike's intersection, Robbin said.
The speed van will visit roughly 10 to 15 locations a week. The city will publicize those spots — though not a specific schedule — on a special, still-in-the-works Web site, and possibly in local media.
The van itself will have signs nearby signaling its presence. "It's not going to be a total surprise," Robbin said.
Santa Fe approved its red light camera program in September, and agreed to a contract with Arizona-based Redflex Traffic System, the program's operator, several months later.
The startup hit a snag in April when Gov. Bill Richardson signed into law a bill requiring cities to give about half their camera fine revenue, after certain expenses are paid, to state government for the DWI/Drug Court Program and other judicial costs. The statute also capped fines from camera-captured traffic violations at $100, less than what Santa Fe had intended to charge traffic miscreants.
The City Council agreed last week to amend its program to conform to the new state requirements. The new red light fines, for instance, will be $66 the first offense within a two-year period and $100 for additional offenses. First-time speeders will be charged $86 and $100 for subsequent citations.
Now, Robbin said, the city is in the process of applying for a construction permit, required because the cameras will be installed along Cerrillos Road, technically the jurisdiction of the state.
The state wants an indemnification agreement from the city before it will issue the construction permit, he said, and such an agreement requires another round of approvals from the City Council and its committees. That process could take at least a month, he said.
Revenue from Santa Fe's program is very roughly estimated to be about $100,000 a month, so the city will get about $50,000 of that to put in a public safety fund, according to Robbin.
The new state statute also requires that a court-appointed officer hear ticket appeals and that the appeals hearings follow the same rules of evidence as state court proceedings.
Santa Fe District Judge James Hall will select a hearing officer, who must be a New Mexico bar-certified lawyer. It remains to be seen whether a full-time hearing officer, paid about $43 an hour, will be needed, Robbin said. Appeals in Albuquerque and Las Cruces involve about 3 percent of citations issued, he said.
"There is a hearing process in place, and, if people don't agree with it (the ticket), we encourage them to take part in the hearing process," Robbin said.
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