Published June 3, 2008

Twenty-two hundred red-light runners have been caught on tape since cameras went up at the Garth and Baker Road intersection in March. But Capt. David Alford of the Baytown Police Department hopes that number won’t be the norm. Of the ten intersections selected for cameras, Garth and Baker is one of the busier ones.

“You have a large volume of traffic there,” Alford said.

And by the end of the summer, city officials and police officers will know for sure if the high number of red-light runners recorded at the only working red-light camera intersection is typical in other areas of town.

With the recent agreement between the City of Baytown and the Texas Department of Transportation finalized, construction workers can finally begin working on the intersections selected for the program that are still camera-less.

After an eight-hour analysis studying the number of violations at various spots around town, it was determined that the cameras would be placed at the following intersections: Highway 146 southbound at North Alexander Drive, (which saw 11 violations), West Baker Road eastbound at Decker Drive, (11 violations), Garth Road southbound at Highway 146, (22 violations), Garth Road northbound at Interstate 10, (13 violations), Garth Road southbound at Interstate 10, (seven violations), Garth Road southbound at West Baker Road, (seven violations), West Baker Road eastbound at Garth Road, (six violations), West Baker Road westbound, (nine violations), Business 146 southbound at Wyoming Street, (eight violations) and North Alexander Drive northbound at Highway 146, (14 violations).

Garth and Baker Road is the only one of these intersections that is not maintained by TxDOT, and the city was on TxDOT’s approval of a permit amending the maintenance agreement Council approved in January that places the responsibility for maintaining red-light camera equipment on the city instead of the state highway department, which maintains red lights on state roads.

“We received the TxDOT agreement last week,” deputy city manager Bob Leiper said.

Construction on the nine intersections begins this week and the camera installations are expected to be complete by July 21, which would allow the warning period for the lights to last from July 22 to August 21, (with August 21 being the day citations will replace warnings going out in the mail).

However, these dates represent an estimated timeline and are not set in stone.

Alford said when the warning period does begin, it will apply to all intersections including the one at Garth and Baker Road, which technically already had its warning phase.

Alford said this is to avoid any confusion for drivers.

Judging by what city officials and Baytown police officers have seen so far, the red light cameras at Garth and Baker Road are doing what they’re supposed to.

The cameras at the only up and running red light camera intersection are still capturing a large number of violators, but anyone driving down the busy street can see that drivers are starting to slow down for yellow where they used to floor it.

Deputy city manger Bob Leiper said the success of the red light cameras will be measured partly through the violations.

“We believe the number of violations at the intersections should steadily decrease,” Leiper said.

And though it’s too soon to tell if that’s going to happen, Capt. David Alford, of the Baytown Police Department, believes the positive effects of the cameras have already started.

“I think we have seen the beginning of that already,” Alford said. “People are waiting on the red light.”

Alford said too many people are hurt as a result of red light runners’ actions, and hopefully, these cameras will save lives.

That’s the good news. The bad news is it may take a citation for drivers to get the picture.

Of the 2,293 incidents caught on camera since the start of the trial period, 2,200 were not thrown out and resulted in either warnings or violations. Alford counted 971 warnings, (33 of which were rejected), and 1.322 violations since the warning period ended on April 24, (60 of which were rejected).

Alford said there’s not really a common reason behind the rejections. In many of the cases, the drivers got lucky because another car was blocking them, making it hard to determine where the car’s wheels were or if it was in fact a violation.

Certain officers spend a few hours each week reviewing the tapes of drivers cruising through the intersection after the light has already turned red, and Alford said in most cases, they’re pretty sure the driver ran the light. But citations aren’t given out on the basis of “pretty sure,” Alford said.

Other violations, like signaling and changing lanes in an intersection might be captured on film, but officers are only looking at drivers running red lights, Alford said.

“If you don’t stop, it’s going to take your picture and there’s a good chance people are going to receive a citation,” Alford said.

The cameras were installed by ATS at no cost to the city, and the company collects 55 percent of the $75 fine for each citation, ($100 for drivers who do not pay the fine within 30 days and are required to pay a $25 late-fee). The city is reimbursed for program expenses by the remaining 45 percent, and any revenue left over after the ATS fee and city expenses are taken care of is divided between the State of Texas Trauma fund and the city.

As is required by state law, any extra funds received by the city will be used for traffic safety. Operating costs include paying Baytown Police officers to view the tape from each camera to certify violations. There may also be associated legal costs.

The $75 citations issued are a civil penalty and will not count as a moving violation or be reported to insurance companies.

So far the program has made about $99,158 from citations.

Alford said no one has challenged a citation to date, most likely because the drivers who receive a citation, (usually mailed out about 48 hours after the incident), can visit the website on the back and view the violation themselves.

Alford was happy to report that as far as police can tell, the Garth and Baker Road cameras have not caused one accident yet, and no city vehicles have been caught running red lights.

http://baytownsun.com/story.lasso?tool=print&ewcd=69cc7ab0ef953acd 6/3/2008

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