[weegee]

Related threads:

CAMERA-SHY It's time to implement videocam traffic enforcement

Toll-Free Hassle - When good EZ TAGs go bad (Automated traffic ticket camera failures)

[weegee]

HOUSTON (gridlock) PING

[weegee]

Dec. 12, 2004, 9:15PM

LETTERS
Camera's goal is safety?
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Shift in responsibility is bad
The Chronicle's Dec. 5 article "STREET SAFETY / Crossing signal troubles persist / Year after death of a pedestrian, downtown repairs remain in progress" indicated that of 76 downtown intersections on four streets, the Chronicle found 32 to be defective. Further, the article mentioned that responsibility for these intersections is split among the city of Houston, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Houston Downtown Management District and various construction contractors.

Now with the city's consideration of cameras to catch red-light runners, it will be abdicating control of traffic to yet another private contractor!

If the camera contractor will be under a contract to share revenues with the city, it will surely try to control traffic signal timing to ensure its revenue stream. Do you want the yellow warning time reduced to where no one can get through intersections without being caught on camera going through a red light?

Cameras should be used for improving safety, not to increase revenue. As part of a safety program, yellow time might even need to be increased to reduce red-light running.

Traffic control in Houston is the responsibility of the city of Houston — not any other entity's. The city should accept its responsibility and assert authority over signal placement, timing and all aspects of traffic control.

ROBERT SCHWARTZ
Houston

[mewzilla]

Privacy advocates, motorists groups and some state lawmakers strongly oppose the cameras, however, and the issue could end up being decided in Austin.

Privacy? It's a public street.

[lonestar]

A fairly new signal at Woodway and North Post Oak Lane in the Galleria area is not in synch with the other lights. It causes quite a backup on both sides of the West Loop.

My route home when I lived in H. Glad to be out of the traffic!!!!

[Eaker]

I would favor the traffic cameras if the $$$ incentive was removed. The light-runner should be penalized, but if nobody benefits financially then there would be no reason for the city to "cheat".

Make violators stand in a court house corner for 8 hours on their day off. Perhaps wearing a dunce cap. That would suck far more than being fined $90.00 and there would be no reasons to play games with the lights.

[freekitty]

How's this going to change anything? Houston's streets have always been bad and as far as I can tell; this is going to continue.

[SaveTheChief]

These problems aren't anything that more tax dollars can't fix. Right?

[Servant of the 9]

In Texas, we call those traddic cameras 'Targets'.

So9