Politics & Government

State: No New Red Light Cameras Allowed

Brick's fourth proposed camera intersection was on hold

At least until a state pilot program comes to an end, there won't be any more red light cameras in Brick or anywhere else in the Garden State.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation announced last week that no new locations would be added to the list of authorized red light camera intersections because there would not be sufficient time to gather useful data under the pilot program that is scheduled to end in December 2014.

Brick was among the first municipalities in the state to participate in the program, which began in 2009 and has grown to include 76 intersections across the state, three of which are in Brick. Brick is the only Ocean County municipality to participate in the program.

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"With a pilot program, it's just that, a pilot program," said Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis, a proponent of red light cameras. "At the end of the five years, people will make a determination as to whether they should move forward."

The cameras have been controversial and elicited anger from drivers who have received $85 tickets in the mail after being caught trying to beat a light or making an illegal or improper right turn on red.

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But t-bone accidents, the type of accidents most likely to cause serious injuries or fatalities, in Brick have been down at camera intersections since the program began, data has shown. Data on accidents in less risky categories has been mixed.

"Nobody can tell me or convince me that, statistically, they don't save lives," said Acropolis.

Others have disagreed, arguing that money – not safety – is the primary motivator behind the cameras. Brick's cameras have brought in well over a million dollars since they went online.

Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon (R-Monmouth), a vocal critic of the cameras, applauded Thursday's decision.

"If they were to continue to turn on new cameras it would be a clear indication that the only goal of this program is money because, as the DOT explained in its release, there just wouldn’t be time to compile any usable data before the pilot program expires," said O'Scanlon.

"Before you can put a bus in reverse you have to stop it, and stopping the proliferation of these insidious RLCs is a step towards their eventual elimination," he said.

Brick had planned one addition camera at the intersection of Route 88 and Post Road, however the plans stalled since not enough data on the intersection had been collected to get it authorized for the pilot program, Acropolis said.


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