The red-light camera program at select intersections in Cary could be eliminated over multiple concerns, among them complaints the system is wrongfully issuing citations. The system is operated by the company Redflex. It collects nearly 90-percent of the revenue from traffic violations captured by the cameras. Town Manager Ben Shivar says local officials have have been less than impressed by the company's performance.
Ben Shiver: We had a situation where a number of left hand turns were recorded as running red lights when it was not the case... sort of a procedural thing, so that took a lot of time. In and of itself, that's not a reason to stop it, but we've noticed it's taken a great deal of staff time, more than we ever anticipated.
Shiver says the safety value of the cameras is also in question. He believes other statewide improvements like flashing yellow left-turn signals are making intersections safer in general. Town council members will discuss possible action at a meeting later this week. Shiver also points to the General Assembly's lukewarm support for the red-light camera program. The Senate passed a bill in the last session that would get rid of the program. The house never took it up. That means it's off the table for the year.
