LETTERS: Are red light cameras a good thing in Citrus Heights?

Editor’s Note: These letters are in response to a March 23 article published in The Sentinel: Citrus Heights red light cameras still operational, as county drops program.

By Ian Garber, Citrus Heights–
I don’t feel that the cameras are a deterrent to drivers running red light traffic lights. My observation has been that the cameras catch the roll-through of right turns. These actions by drivers rarely result in a collision and especially not a fatal collision. Those drivers that run a red light have made a spur-of-the-moment decision to continue through intersection and have not processed the consequences of doing so.

As other jurisdictions have determined that not only do the cameras not reduce collisions, they are not cost neutral. As with many statistical conclusions, numbers can be manipulated to support opposing outcomes. I think that the funds would be better used on enforcement by our local officers and a greater share of the revenue generated by citations comes back to the City.

Another view
I don’t have issues with red light cameras; those that are caught deserve the fine. My gripes are several intersections in the city that fail to recognize a motorcycle. One light that usually fails to change is northbound on Sylvan Road turning west at Stock Ranch Road. Another one is the light at Madison and Mariposa, I generally get off the bike and walk over to the crosswalk and push the pedestrian light so I can then proceed east on Madison. Mariposa and Greenback is very problematic. It often refuses to recognize either north or south cars or motorcycles waiting to cross Greenback Lane.
-Leon Barrow, Citrus Heights

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