You probably didn’t miss them, but red light cameras might be on their way back

In an effort to improve safety – especially for pedestrians – Charlotte may bring back red-light traffic cameras.

The City Council voted Monday to send the issue to its transportation and planning committee, which would be the first step toward using the cameras again. They were in operation in Charlotte from 1998 to 2006.

The city quit using the cameras after the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled a decade ago that 90 percent of the revenue from the program must be given to the local board of education, which in Charlotte’s case would be Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Before the ruling, Charlotte had been giving CMS about 30 percent of the ticket revenue and using the rest to cover the cost of running the program. A Florida contractor operated the cameras for the city.

Faced with having to pay the cost to operate the program, the City Council voted in 2006 to discontinue the cameras.

Mayor Pro Tem Vi Lyles, who is running for mayor, asked council members Monday to consider bringing the cameras back.

Lyles said there have been too many wrecks involving pedestrians, including a Saturday night hit-and-run at South Tryon Street near Bland Street.

Police say 31-year-old Jessica Morrell was hit by a car while she was in the crosswalk. The traffic signal was red, which should have allowed her to cross safely. WBTV, the Observer’s news partner, said Monday that Morrell was in critical condition.

“When I got home and heard the story of the woman who was struck in South End, I thought, we have got to do something about pedestrian safety,” Lyles said. “The cameras may have downsides, but we have to study this.”

Lyles said Fayetteville and Wilmington are working with the General Assembly to see whether state law can be changed to allow for cities to keep enough revenue to pay the camera’s operating costs.

“The fine still goes to the schools,” Lyles said. “But the cost of the program is reimbursed.”

Under former Mayor Anthony Foxx, City Council considered bringing the cameras back in 2010, but the plan wasn’t ultimately approved.

When council members briefly considered bringing the cameras back seven years ago, city staff gave them a snapshot of four intersections and how they fared before, during and after the cameras were used. The intersections were 11th and Brevard streets; Tryon Street at W.T. Harris Boulevard; Idlewild Road at Independence Boulevard; and Tyvola Road at Wedgewood Avenue.

In general, the statistics showed a dramatic decrease in angle crashes after the red-light cameras were installed. But after the cameras were taken down, wrecks continued to decline.

From 1995-98, before the cameras were installed, there were 94 angle crashes at the intersections and 258 rear-end collisions. Angle crashes include wrecks when a car runs a red light and hits or is hit by someone going across the intersection.

From 1998-2001, when the cameras were operating, there were 48 angle crashes and 322 rear-end collisions. The higher rear-end crashes may have been due to people slamming on their brakes as they approached the intersection out of fear of being ticketed.

From 2006-09, after the cameras were removed, there were 41 angle crashes and 187 rear-end crashes.

Fayetteville brought back its red-light camera program in 2015. The city has nine cameras operating, and in the first three months of the program, the cameras issued more than 4,200 citations.

Fayetteville and Cumberland schools have an agreement to share the citation revenue. The citation for running a red light is $100, with the city getting $35 and the school district getting $65, according to the Fayetteville Observer.

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 11:41 AM with the headline "You probably didn’t miss them, but red light cameras might be on their way back."