Author Topic: Hackensack approves red-light cameras  (Read 8427 times)

Offline BLeafe

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Hackensack approves red-light cameras
« on: May 21, 2011, 11:42:07 AM »
Saturday, May 21, 2011
The Record

HACKENSACK — Red-light cameras will be coming to the city.

The City Council this week voted to enter into a contract with RedFlex Traffic Systems Inc. of Phoenix to install and monitor the cameras. The contract is still being drafted, said City Attorney Joseph Zisa.

The purpose of the cameras is improving public safety and reducing the number of motorists who go through red lights, the resolution states.

City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono said officials have not decided which intersections will receive cameras, and the city still needs approval from the state. He said in the end there probably will be about five installed around the city. He said it will take several months for intersections to be chosen and the cameras placed.

Lo Iacono said the cost of the installation and monitoring will be covered by fines received from summonses generated by the cameras. He said the company may get a portion of the fines collected.

City officials said two requests for qualifications were received, and that the council deliberated on the issue for several months before deciding on a company.

"It's been a long and painful process and I just want to see it come to a conclusion so that we can move ahead," Lo Iacono said.

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Offline Editor

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Re: Hackensack approves red-light cameras
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2013, 03:11:34 PM »
(Looks like I missed this one...)

Hackensack leaders still want red light cameras
Friday, October 12, 2012
BY  CAESAR DARIAS
CORRESPONDENT
Hackensack Chronicle

The City of Hackensack is attempting to move forward with a plan to install red light traffic cameras, a measure officials say will improve vehicular and pedestrian safety, and may also provide police with a crime solving tool.

The wait, however, may be a long one. The state Department of Transportation is currently not approving new applications as it continues a five-year pilot program through Dec. 16, 2014 at 85 intersections in 25 municipalities, including Englewood Cliffs and Palisades Park in Bergen County, and Wayne Township in Passaic County.

"As of right now there is no current plan to expand that program," said Tim Greely, spokesman for DOT. "We reserve the right to expand."

"It's certainly disappointing because we can't move ahead," said City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono when told of DOT's policy.

According to Greely, a yearly evaluation report to the Legislature is due in November. If DOT decides to expand beyond its cap of 25 municipalities, each municipality's application will be evaluated individually rather than a first-come, first-served basis. Permission will be granted "based on crash history and the number of summonses issued at each intersection," said Greely.

"I welcome that," said Lo Iacono. "I'm very confident that we would certainly qualify. As far as our end is concerned, we've done everything we need to do."

Interim Chief Tomas J. Padilla agreed, expressing similar sentiments during the city's Committee of the Whole meeting on Oct. 2. "We're giving them whatever data they need from us so that we can be ready to go, if and when it is approved," he said.

A 29-page contract with Phoenix-based Redflex Traffic Systems was approved by the city council and later signed by Lo Iacono on Sept. 6, 2011.

The pilot program has seen its share of controversy.

In June, DOT ordered 21 municipalities to cease issuing summonses at 63 intersections until they could certify that yellow light duration times complied with the legally required formula.

According to a DOT press release, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices "requires a minimum duration of the yellow light to equal one-tenth of the posted speed limit on the approaching road."

DOT provides this example: "Where the approaching road has a posted speed of 40 miles per hour, the signal must display yellow for a minimum of four seconds. NJDOT rounds up to the nearest whole second, so in instances where the approaching speed limit is 45 miles per hour, the signal displays a yellow light for five seconds."

Moreover, "The formula requires a yellow signal of at least three seconds if at least 85 percent of the approaching traffic travels at speeds of 25 miles per hour or less."

Some legislators are trying discontinue or modify use of cameras. Two bills were introduced in the state assembly last month. One would repeal the pilot program and would "[prohibit] municipalities from using similar systems to detect violations of traffic control signals in the future."

The second proposal seeks detailed information for the public, and establishes standard and increased duration for amber lights.

"We did not feel they were promoting safety," said Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, D-Englewood, co-sponsor of both bills. "There was more profit than safety."

"The [second bill] would require DOT to provide clear guidelines," said Huttle. "It requires them to provide it on their web site. If you get a summons in the mail today, it's not timely. It may be a month or two later and it doesn't describe what the violation is."

Huttle also complained that many drivers are issued violations for making a right turn on red. Her bill would reduce the penalty for failing to fully stop before turning on red from $85 to $20. "We want to make it fair so that drivers are aware of what's being done."

"The most important thing is the safety issue," said Padilla. "I know there's been some concern by some that it's a revenue generator."

According to numbers obtained through an Open Public Records Act request, the Hackensack Police Department reports that as of Sept. 17, 44 pedestrians and nine bicyclists were injured this year. There were no fatalities.

Last year, 56 pedestrians and nine bicyclists were injured. One pedestrian was killed.

And in 2010, 57 pedestrians and eight bicyclists were injured. There were no fatalities.

Under terms of the contract, Redflex would pay the city a monthly fixed fee of $3,900 per camera for the first 125 paid citations and $11.99 for each additional citation. There is a yearly cost of living increase based on the Consumer Price Index.

According to Padilla, red light cameras can also help to solve crimes.

"There have been instances in other places where the cameras have served a law enforcement role where they caught a traffic accident, a hit and run, where they caught a plate as it went by," said Padilla. "It does have some added, positive effects."

Because DOT approval is based on criterion such as traffic volume, the city is targeting three intersections including Passaic Street and River Street.

Email: hackensack@northjersey.com

Offline just watching

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Re: Hackensack approves red-light cameras
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2013, 05:17:56 PM »
The problem with some of the cameras is the little green arrow for left turns.  That arrow will disappear after a certain time, even though the main light is still green. Some towns interpret that as making an illegal left turn at a red light, even though no red light is present.  I got a summons in Union for that last year, via a camera that took two pictures, both showing the light green. I was too busy to challenge it, so I paid the fine, no points on my license. 

Unless I see a red light or a red arrow, it seems to be very unfair.  What is the real law regarding that.

Offline Victor E Sasson

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Re: Hackensack approves red-light cameras
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2013, 10:09:38 AM »
Did you go through a yellow arrow? Maye that's why you got the ticket.

Offline just watching

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Re: Hackensack approves red-light cameras
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2013, 07:01:32 PM »
No, instead of having 3 vertical lights, red, yellow, green, there is a fourth lower light, which is just a green left arrow.  When the light first turns green, the "green" is displayed along with the green left arrow. After about 7 seconds the green arrow disappears but the green light is still on.  I got a ticket for making a left turn after the green arrow disappeared, but the light was still green.

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Re: Hackensack approves red-light cameras
« Reply #5 on: October 22, 2014, 02:18:35 PM »
N.J. red light camera program: League of Municipalities says it should not be scrapped
League of Municipalities - Mayors' Box Luncheon

William Dressel, Jr., executive director of the NJ State League of Municipalities, is shown in this file photo. The League wants New Jersey to renew its red light camera program (Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger)

Matt Friedman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com By  Matt Friedman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com   
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on October 20, 2014 at 4:05 PM, updated October 20, 2014 at 4:52 PM

TRENTON — The organization that lobbies on behalf of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities wants the state to renew its red light camera pilot pr ogram.

Bill Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, wrote to Gov. Chris Christie last week in support of extending the program, which is set to expire in December.

“The purpose of these cameras is to enhance safety by discouraging drivers from improperly passing through red lights,” Dressel wrote in the Oct. 15 letter. “The NJ Department of Transportation program report finds that the red light running program in fact has been effectively enhancing safety by changing driver behavior.”

There are currently 73 camera-equipped intersections in 24 New Jersey towns.

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Re: Hackensack approves red-light cameras
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2014, 02:21:31 PM »
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-nj-red-light-cameras-go-dark-20141109-story.html?track=rss

N.J. likely to shut down red-light cameras
By Paul Nussbaum,  Of The Philadelphia Inquirer (MCT)
November 9, 2014, 11:12 AM
 
New Jersey's controversial red-light cameras are likely to go dark next month, as the five-year experimental program expires with no legislative push to renew it..

Supporters of the cameras say the program has improved safety, while opponents contend the cameras have served only to enrich local and state governments.

Offline Victor E Sasson

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Re: Hackensack approves red-light cameras
« Reply #7 on: November 11, 2014, 09:51:21 AM »
You've all seen other drivers blowing through red lights, so why would you oppose red-light cameras? Most of the drivers who go through red lights are speeding, and they endanger others with how they drive. If it enriches Hackensack, that would be fantastic. As a property tax payer, whatever fine money goes to the city is sorely needed.

Speeding, aggressive driving and people driving through red lights and stop signs with total lack of regard for other drivers has become an epidemic, and police enforcement has generally declined, especially on the turnpike and parkway.

Locally, anything that can be done to stop this incredibly irresponsible behavior is welcome. Red-light cameras save lives. I don't understand the push back on this issue; these selfish people are laughing at the law and the drivers and pedestrians they endanger.

New York City has had red-light cameras for years for years. Why are they such a problem in New Jersey? The city just lowered its maximum speed limit to 25 mph and is targeting speeders. Why is New Jersey so behind the times?

And remember. Driving is a privilege, not a constitutional right. I say take away the privilege from repeat violators, and let them take the bus.

Offline just watching

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Re: Hackensack approves red-light cameras
« Reply #8 on: November 11, 2014, 06:16:53 PM »
The cameras actually cause worse driving behavior, but not at the filmed intersections.  People are increasingly disregarding traffic laws at non-filmed intersections. It's an Orwellian program, and people don't like the surveillance and invasion of privacy.

Therefore,  the cameras have caused a feeling of general contempt for laws among a significant percent of the population who cares about those Orwellian things.  And that is not good for society as a whole.

It is good to know that the program is over.  Now I can go back to respecting the laws.

 

anything