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1st Red-Light Camera Ready To Roll

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 7, 2008

Updated: 03/06/2008 09:34 pm

PORT RICHEY - In less than two weeks, this small west Pasco city will switch on a red-light camera near the intersection of U.S. 19 and Ridge Road, becoming the first community in the Tampa Bay area to use the controversial traffic control devices.

Following the lead of other Florida cities, Port Richey is exploiting a loophole in the law to enact traffic ordinances allowing the use of surveillance cameras.

Cliches about Big Brother aside, city officials say it's about saving lives and property.

"This is one of the most dangerous intersections in the region," said Lt. Dave Brown of the city's police department. "Most of the accidents are caused by red-light violators."

Initially, there will be only one red-light camera installed. It will monitor southbound traffic that passes through the traffic-choked intersection of U.S. 19 and Ridge Road.

That camera is expected to be operating by March 19, Brown said.

Ultimately, the city plans to install eight cameras: four at the Ridge Road intersection, two at Grand Boulevard and U.S. 19, and two at Ridge Road and Leo Kidd Drive.

City officials have negotiated a five-year contract with Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions to install and maintain the cameras and online monitoring system. In return, the company will get a portion of the revenue, or about $40, from each ticket issued.

The system would provide photographs and video of a vehicle and its license plate, he said. The police department, which would have 24-hour access to the cameras via the company's Web site, would review the evidence and decide whether it backs up a citation. Any tickets or warnings would be mailed to the vehicle's registered owner.

For the first month, though, the city plans to issue only warnings to violators.

"After that, all bets are off," Brown said. "We want people to be aware of them."

Nationwide, red-light cameras are being used in 14 states.

Regionally, Hillsborough County and Temple Terrace also are planning to install cameras, but officials in both places are still in the planning and approval phases.

Supporters of the high-speed surveillance equipment say it's a way to crack down on red-light scofflaws while generating revenue for municipal coffers. Opponents say the cameras are a revenue-generating gimmick and do little to crack down on violators.

Advocacy groups and a handful of municipalities across the state have lobbied the Legislature for years - with little success - to pass a law allowing the cameras.

Legislation named after Mark Wandall, who died in 2003 when a red-light runner slammed into his car, was approved by a House subcommittee in the 2006 session but never made it to the floor for a vote. That proposal is being reconsidered this year.

In 2005, then-Attorney General Charlie Crist deemed it "unlawful" for cities to give red-light camera tickets to motorists without the explicit sanction of the Legislature.

Crist said the cameras can be installed, but no ticket issued, because statutes require that a law enforcement officer must personally observe the violation to write a citation.

The state Department of Transportation has raised objections with several cities about placing the cameras on state highways, intersections and other rights of way.

Gulf Breeze in the Panhandle and Pembroke Pines in Miami-Dade County found a way around the prohibition by passing ordinances that imposed nonmoving violations, similar to parking tickets, and by installing cameras on city-owned or private property.

Port Richey officials adopted a similar strategy to install and use the cameras. The cameras here will be installed on private property.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

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