Tempe is halting its photo enforcement cameras in the wake of a lawsuit claiming the city shortchanged the operator by $1.3 million.
The cameras will stop taking pictures of speeders at the end of Monday.
Tempe is letting its contract with Redflex Traffic Solution expire as it approaches a deadline on a one-year renewal of the program. The City Council discussed but rejected a shorter extension to see whether it could resolve the legal issues without having a lapse in service.
“I don’t believe in extending a contract to a company that is currently suing us over that contract,” Councilwoman Shanna Ellis said.
The dispute’s outcome could substantially change photo radar’s impact on taxpayers — and whether the city deems it economical to resume the practice.
Tempe says it lost about $15,000 last year on photo enforcement after paying Redflex’s fees and covering staff costs. If Tempe paid the disputed $1.3 million, the city would likely have lost more than $400,000 per year in each of the last three years of its contract. The city says it tries to set fines based on its costs so that photo enforcement is financially neutral and keeps its focus on reducing collisions.
City Manager Charlie Meyer said the dispute prevents him from addressing the financial implications if Tempe paid additional fees.
“It’s really awkward for me to talk about the specifics of a lawsuit so I really can’t do that,” he said.
The Council will discuss photo enforcement’s future on Aug. 18. The discussion will include looking at accident rates to determine whether the cameras have improved safety. The city’s statistics show accidents have fallen three years in a row in areas near the cameras. Citywide collisions were down two years in a row and then stabilized.
Councilman Corey Woods said the Council needs to study whether the cameras resulted in those drops.
He said he has philosophical issues with photo radar and with Redflex’s marketing. He objects to video loops the company uses at events that show graphic collisions taped by cameras.
“What they’re saying is the implementation of cameras will stop people from creating these gruesome scenes,” Woods said. “I find the video personally to be highly inappropriate and distasteful.”
Redflex has operated 10 fixed-location cameras and two vans for four years.
Tempe had proposed a three-month extension on the contract to keep the cameras operating while it tried to work through the dispute with Redflex. Mayor Hugh Hallman suggested a one-month extension but that failed in a 4-3 vote. Hallman’s proposal was supported by Vice Mayor Joel Navarro and Robin Arredondo-Savage, but Woods, Shana Ellis, Robin Arredondo-Savage and Mark Mitchell opposed an extension.
Redflex sued Tempe Dec. 10, claiming the city informed Redflex that it had not paid the company a portion of fines charged to drivers who attended traffic school. The city claimed it doesn’t have to pay the fee of $35.50 per for fixed-camera citations and $37.50 for mobile cameras, the suit states.
About 31 percent of citations issued are resolved by that driver paying a fine. The city does not have statistics breaking down how many drivers resolved the violation by going to traffic school or how many failed to pay the ticket and eventually had it dismissed.
Tempe will gather that information and other statistics, Meyer said.
The camera equipment could remain after being turned off. Redflex owns the equipment and the company may wish to keep it in place in the event it were to successfully bid on another contract. If the city decides to seek bids, it would take months for the process to play out and for existing or new cameras to begin snapping photos again, Meyer said.
He said Tempe will consider having the cameras taken out.
“We are broaching that topic with Redflex,” he said.
Redflex spokesman Tom Herrmann said the company isn’t commenting on the lawsuit or the contract’s expiration. “It’s our hope that we’ll be able to get back to work in Tempe and work on improving public safety at the intersections in Tempe,” he said.
• Contact writer: (480) 898-6548 or ggroff@evtrib.com
Slabside posted at 2:31 pm on Wed, Jul 13, 2011.
Good question Rich.
Rich posted at 5:58 pm on Tue, Jul 12, 2011.
Why do you let a third party, with photos an eight year old can alter in photoshop as proof, issue tickets from the government and collect money for that? The public isn't that gullible, why is their government?
jcwconsult posted at 5:58 pm on Tue, Jul 12, 2011.
I sent the following email to Tempe officials:
hugh_hallman@tempe.gov joel_navarro@tempe.gov robin_arredondo-savage@tempe.gov shana_ellis@tempe.gov mark_mitchell@tempe.gov onnie_shekerjian@tempe.gov corey_woods@tempe.gov info@tempechamber.org contact@tempetourism.com Stephanie@tempetourism.com erin_fillmore@tempe.gov shelley_hearn@tempe.gov monica_lamparter@tempe.gov tempe_police@tempe.gov don_bessler@tempe.gov sue_taaffe@tempe.gov shelly_seyler@tempe.gov
Dear Tempe Officials:
Below is a post I just left on the FOX10 blog
It is a good move for Tempe to drop the contract with Redflex, a company that will happily sue one of their business-partner cities. It is unnecessary to EVER do business with such a company.
Now, IF safety is the real goal for Tempe's traffic management policies, the city can take these steps to maximize safety. 1.) Set all main road, arterial, and collector-street posted speed limits to the 85th percentile speed of free flowing traffic under good conditions. This is the posted limit that tends to produce the smoothest traffic flow and the fewest accidents. 2.) Set the yellow and all-red light intervals on all traffic lights with the ITE formulas for the ACTUAL 85th percentile approach speeds under good conditions. The posted speed limit is NOT relevant to setting traffic light intervals for safety. 3.) If red light cameras are ever used in the future, change the city code to issue camera tickets for slow rolling right on red turns ONLY IF the camera video reveals an actual safety issue. If the way was clear and the driver made a slow rolling right on red without interfering with another user, no ticket is to be issued (Florida RLC law).
Note that the above changes will make it impossible for speed or red light cameras to record enough violations to even pay their basic costs, let alone make any profits. Correct engineering produces the greatest safety and eliminates the need for predatory ticket cameras. The science is on our website.
James C. Walker
National Motorists Association
www.motorists.org
2050 Camelot Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-668-7842
Your citizens and visitors would benefit greatly if all your posted speed limits and traffic light engineering parameters were set to maximize safety. And, the results will almost certainly be so good that you will never again consider using one of the predatory ticket camera companies as a business partner. Ticket cameras ONLY produce enough revenue to interest these predatory companies when the engineering parameters are set improperly, whether those actions were deliberate or accidental. Safety-optimized speed limits and traffic light timing simply will not allow the cameras to issue enough violations to justify their installation.
www.thenewspaper.com has lists of the states that either ban or restrict ticket cameras so much they are not used, and the list of cities where voters voted them out. Once citizens see the predatory nature of ticket cameras, they vote them out 100% of the time when given that opportunity. I am lucky, I live in one of the states where ticket cameras are illegal. This should be the case in all 50 states and the District of Colombia which is one of the most flagrant violators in using predatory cameras for revenue, not safety. The business plans for ticket cameras require bad engineering to prosper, and it is simply not proper for cities to become their business partners with bad engineering.
RationalHuman posted at 4:58 pm on Tue, Jul 12, 2011.
"Tempe says it lost about $15,000 last year on photo enforcement after paying Redflex’s fees and covering staff costs. If Tempe paid the disputed $1.3 million, the city would likely have lost more than $400,000 per year in each of the last three years of its contract."
Gosh that sure is strange, because in another article just published today, city officials " claim that the speed photo enforcement programs it implements on city streets are “revenue-neutral".
So which IS it, Tempe?
We already know that RedFlex is a corrupt, FOR profit company that is suing several cities for not tampering with their yellow lights to produce more tickets.
The real question is, why are they still in business in Arizona?
Juggernaut6000 posted at 4:28 pm on Tue, Jul 12, 2011.
These cameras have been an embaressment to this state and most are glad to see them go. It was all about money and the cities are slowly pulling these psuedo ATM's and should be ashamed of themselves.