POLL: Do You Approve Of Extending The Red Light Program?

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY - Suffolk County legislators voted 11-7 to extend the local red-light camera program until 2024 — with some modifications.

According to Suffolk officials, the program uses automated enforcement to enhance the safety of motorists at red light intersections located within Suffolk County.

The program caused controversy among the residents who believe it to be unnecessary. Despite this, legislators voted to approve the plan during a legislature meeting held this week.

However, the Democratic legislators who approved the plan also presented proposals to make changes to the program in order to address some of the resident's concerns.

First, Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory wanted to address concerns about climbing numbers of unpaid red light camera tickets, with a new proposal that would add a payment plan option for satisfying tickets.

"Offering a payment plan will be an important change to the Red Light Camera Program, allowing residents who can’t afford to pay the ticket in full to make partial payments and avoid mounting late fees," Gregory said.

Legislator Tom Donnelly also wanted to make amendments to program by introducing a plan that would direct the Traffic and Parking Violations Agency (TPVA) and County contractors to implement a "review, report and react" procedure to improve safety at red light camera intersections.

His concerns are focused on what he said is the need for TPVA and the Department of Public Works (DPW) to review the intersections where the cameras are located to ensure public safety.

The DPW would monitor these intersections to determine whether the cameras are stationed at appropriate locations and, if not, move the equipment to alternative sites when required.

The Red Light Camera Monitoring and Review Program would require TPVA and DPW to work together with the vendor to conduct ongoing monitoring of intersections with cameras.

The two would also report and analyze the accident and ticket data annually for three preceding years and completing a report for review by the combined departments and vendor by June 30th of each year.

The departments and the vendor will review crash data from the New York State Department of Transportation to determine if intersections other than the current locations should be considered for relocation of equipment to improve traffic safety.

Legislator Bill Lindsay proposed a first-time offender program in which violators would be required to view an educational video where they would be credited and receive a partial waiver of the ticket fee.

Legislator William Spencer introduced legislation that would look at those intersections identified where there is a dramatic increase in accidents and make a recommendation as to what would be required in funding to improve safety issues at those intersections.

TPVA operations have come under scrutiny as well. Some legislators believe there needs to be improvements in how the agency is run with more consideration given to timeliness and respect of those paying fines.

What do you think?