Red Light Cameras Come to a Stop

By Prescott Carlson in News on Oct 26, 2009 9:00PM

There's one thing many of Chicago's drivers will find positive from the latest city budget shortfalls -- the Chicago Department of Transportation has stopped installing the loathed red light cameras around the city for now because there's simply no cash to buy new ones. But that doesn't mean you can count on the main intersection near you to remain red light camera free -- the city is shuffling around their camera locations and will move 20 of the current 189 cameras elsewhere, as supposedly deemed necessary by which ones would "have the most positive effect on traffic safety."

City spokesperson Peter Scales told the Sun-Times that it's all a "cost-saving measure" and a reduction in "capital outlay." He also defended the moving of cameras from intersections where accidents had been reduced.

Wait, aren't the cameras directly responsible for the decrease in accidents? Maybe, maybe not. But it's certainly the line Chicago has always spouted for the reason for the spate of cameras. So it would seem they're OK, then, with accidents rising again at the intersections where the cameras are removed. Because certainly they're not just scouting for better intersections to catch people making minor infractions like rolling right turns on red and boosting the almost $50 million in red light ticket revenue at a time when the city is desperate for funds. That would just be crazy talk.