On July 19, City Council voted 7-0 in favor of entering a renewal/revised five-year red light enforcement contract with Red Flex Systems, approving the expansion of the red light cameras and the mobile van.
Council expressed concerns about people being able to identify the mobile unit. The van will be marked and identified as a Trotwood Police unit in addition to plans for some locations, Porter said,
“To give people warnings through the creation of diamond shaped signs alerting the driver that they are entering a speed enforcement area,” he said.
Officials said Trotwood’s goal isn’t to add revenue through speeding citations, but to change driving habits. “We want people to slow down and comply with the traffic signals, so they will stop when they’re supposed to” and vice versa, Porter said.
Council asked if cameras would be installed at every intersection along Ohio 49. Porter said “no.”
He explained that it’s too difficult to install cameras along the entire route because, “some of the issues involving enforcement are clearly around the Dayton and Trotwood city lines and there are certain sections of Dayton that zigzag.” This is where the van comes into play, “Because of it’s capability of moving easily throughout the community into multiple areas.”
Officials believe the red light cameras have curbed traffic violations in the city. In the 2009 annual police report, acting police chief/Capt. Erik Wilson reported that automated photo enforcement figures showed a reduction in red light violations from 3,933 in 2008 to 2,239 in 2009 and speed violations declined from 9,172 in 2008 to 5,547 in 2009.
Plans are in place for five of the cameras to be installed at three of the highest reported crash sites: one at Free Pike at Ohio 49 (11 crashes); two at Salem Avenue at Turner (11 crashes); and two at Ohio 49 at Olive Road, (11 crashes). The remaining cameras are mid-block cameras only, set for installation at 4400 North Union school zone site.
The red light cost for violators remains $85. According to the renewal/revised five-year contract with Red Flex Systems, Trotwood will pay Red Flex $50 for construction, maintenance and electrical upkeep. Under the old contract the city paid $57.61. The balance is used for officer administrative functions to insure cameras are operating correctly and to notify Red Flex about problems.
Porter expects the van to be set up in a month and the first set of cameras should up in about two months. Porter said he would prefer the first set of red light cameras installed at the school before or shortly after going back in session.
“A lot depends on the engineers and construction managers and the type of construction going on in the area at the time,” he said.
After the cameras are fully installed, there will be a 30-day grace period to verify that each system is fully operational. The city plans a media blitz to announce that no violations will be issued during the first 30-days of operation (only recorded) for the purpose of making sure the system is up and running properly, he said.
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