Buffalo's street cams - vote: good or bad? (Auburn: city hall, houses)

[FedupWNY]

Originally Posted by londonbarcelona

Oh gosh - totally off topic, but I LOVE BINGO! lol

No problemo

I had heard some interesting news the other day. Our Mayor has been trying to lobby Albany for some "red light cams" for some of our most busy intersections in the City, but a (certain) Assemblyman is actually trying to stop it from happening.... This same Assemblyman, from the Mayor, is on the transportation committee. I hope Mayor Brown gets enough people behind this project so that it can happen.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by FedupWNY

No problemo

I had heard some interesting news the other day. Our Mayor has been trying to lobby Albany for some "red light cams" for some of our most busy intersections in the City, but a (certain) Assemblyman is actually trying to stop it from happening.... This same Assemblyman, from the Mayor, is on the transportation committee. I hope Mayor Brown gets enough people behind this project so that it can happen.

We have red light cameras in Scottsdale/Phoenix and they have saved a LOT of lives since being installed. I am all for them!

[FedupWNY]

Originally Posted by londonbarcelona

We have red light cameras in Scottsdale/Phoenix and they have saved a LOT of lives since being installed. I am all for them!

It stinks that politics has to get in the way of our safety.

I found this site on the internet that says:

Cameras have been shown to substantially reduce red light violations. Institute evaluations in Fairfax, Virginia, and Oxnard, California, showed that camera enforcement reduced red light running violations by about 40 percent.3,7 In addition to reducing red light running at camera-equipped sites, violation reductions in both communities carried over to signalized intersections not equipped with red light cameras, indicating community-wide changes in driver behavior. An Institute evaluation of red light cameras in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, found that after red light violations were reduced by 36 percent following increased yellow signal timing, the addition of red light cameras further reduced red light violations by 96 percent.8

Read the complete text here

On the same site, I also found this info:

Do red light cameras violate motorists' privacy?
No. Driving is a regulated activity on public roads. By obtaining a license, a motorist agrees to abide by certain rules, such as to obey traffic signals. Neither the law nor common sense suggests drivers should not be observed on the road or have their violations documented. Red light camera systems can be designed to photograph only a vehicle's rear license plate, not vehicle occupants, depending on local law. Only vehicles driven by motorists who violate the law are photographed.

and this:

Is red light running a big problem?
A nationwide study of fatal crashes at traffic signals in 1999 and 2000 estimated that 20 percent of the drivers involved failed to obey the signals.1 In 2006, almost 900 people were killed and an estimated 144,000 were injured in crashes that involved red light running. About half of the deaths in red light running crashes are pedestrians and occupants in other vehicles who are hit by the red light runners.

Motorists are more likely to be injured in urban crashes involving red light running than in other types of urban crashes. Institute researchers studied police reports of crashes on public roads in four urban areas during 1990-91. Occupant injuries occurred in 45 percent of red light running crashes, compared with 30 percent of other crash types.2

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by FedupWNY

It stinks that politics has to get in the way of our safety.

I found this site on the internet that says:



Read the complete text here

On the same site, I also found this info:



and this:

I think that in places that really need them it's such a good thing. Such as in areas of high crime, and highways, intersections, etc.

Unless you have actually lived through seeing the difference the cameras make, you can't really appreciate them. Admittedly, the thought of them can be very scary, you know, the whole "big brother" thing.
And this democrat (me) wouldn't want them scattered around just anywhere, but even I realize that there is sometimes a need for such things.

To those who do not like them, look at it this way: If people behaved themselves we wouldn't need them. Like cameras on school buses. But if you can't follow the rules then, you have to be babysat. It's as simple as that.

To me, if there is ANYTHING that can reduce crime in Buffalo - Then I am ALL for it. It is a proven fact, that low crime areas will be more populated and the jobs will come to THEM. But who in their right mind wants to move to a crime ridden area? Not me, that's for sure.

Remember how beautiful the area right off the 33 was before Main street (before you got to the fruit belt) now it's all run down, and crime ridden. I'm shocked.

PEOPLE - There is a difference between being POOR and being DIRTY. Just because you are poor, it does not excuse you from the responsibilities of life. Clean up your act and watch how things can change in your life.

For example, when my son died at 17 (2 years ago) we told my daughter (his sister) NO EXCUSES. Yeah, this whole thing sucks - big time - but you are 14, you need to get through high school and into a good college. NO EXCUSES. We told her you need to hold your head up and continue to work hard, because giving up will just make things worse.

Today, she is Student Body President of a 3000 student high school and has been accepted to the University of Miami for Broadcasting! (That a tough school to get into.) And mind you, at all but two schools, she was offered 7 scholarships!

So back on topic... hopefully the cameras will assist others in cleaning up their lives and things can begin to improve in those areas for Buffalo.

[FedupWNY]

Originally Posted by londonbarcelona

I think that in places that really need them it's such a good thing. Such as in areas of high crime, and highways, intersections, etc.

Unless you have actually lived through seeing the difference the cameras make, you can't really appreciate them. Admittedly, the thought of them can be very scary, you know, the whole "big brother" thing.
And this democrat (me) wouldn't want them scattered around just anywhere, but even I realize that there is sometimes a need for such things.

At one intersection of a major hospital is a camera and where the signs says "Stop here on red" cars are stopping until the light changes to green. A two-week difference is just a sample on the improvement they've made so far. Another is a corner where several drug busts/police calls have been made over the years is now a corner to walk by without a worry of rude, loud, intiminating teenage loiterers. Areas outside of the cameras' views are to be monitored a little closer.

As per red light cams, driving is privilege not a right. If people feel they'll be caught picking their nose at a red light... they shouldn't pick their nose, right? If someone has an open can of beer in one hand while waiting at a red light, that's what the cameras want to detect.

All of this is completely unlike the sensationalized and over-dramatic TV show like "Big Brother" or Survivor.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by FedupWNY

At one intersection of a major hospital is a camera and where the signs says "Stop here on red" cars are stopping until the light changes to green. A two-week difference is just a sample on the improvement they've made so far. Another is a corner where several drug busts/police calls have been made over the years is now a corner to walk by without a worry of rude, loud, intiminating teenage loiterers. Areas outside of the cameras' views are to be monitored a little closer.

As per red light cams, driving is privilege not a right. If people feel they'll be caught picking their nose at a red light... they shouldn't pick their nose, right? If someone has an open can of beer in one hand while waiting at a red light, that's what the cameras want to detect.

All of this is completely unlike the sensationalized and over-dramatic TV show like "Big Brother" or Survivor.

Well, I don't think the cameras will arrest anyone for an open beer can (however illegal it may be)
nor will they publish someone picking their nose.
The cameras at the lights for for red light hopping. That's all.

[vick223]

The cameras are for control. People need to wake up! These cameras are not for crime or traffic safety...we are living in a police state. People need to stop watching the news and go find out what is really going on. We are losing our freedoms everyday, and what's sad is that we are allowing the Government to take it away from us. When are people going to start caring about what is going on in this Country, because it will be too late when the troops are patroling our streets and hauling us off to FEMA camps. The are 800 of these concentration camps ready just for us. Google: Rex 84 or FEMA concentration camps. These cameras are being used against us. Wake up people, we can stop this.

[12buttons]

Originally Posted by FedupWNY

No problemo

I had heard some interesting news the other day. Our Mayor has been trying to lobby Albany for some "red light cams" for some of our most busy intersections in the City, but a (certain) Assemblyman is actually trying to stop it from happening.... This same Assemblyman, from the Mayor, is on the transportation committee. I hope Mayor Brown gets enough people behind this project so that it can happen.

are you kidding? those red light cameras are awful...they're revenue for the city..enough with big brother stuff...when we have to rely on cameras for law and order we have lost more than our freedom...imo

[FedupWNY]

Originally Posted by 12buttons

are you kidding? those red light cameras are awful...they're revenue for the city..enough with big brother stuff...when we have to rely on cameras for law and order we have lost more than our freedom...imo

Please enlighten us in specific as to what "freedom" is lost.

[vick223]

[SIZE=+1][/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]US Constitution (Bill of Rights)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]US Patriot Act[/SIZE]Amendment IV: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Freedom from unreasonable searches: The government may search and seize Americans' papers and effects without probable cause to assist terror investigation. Amendment VI: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. Right to a speedy and public trial: The government may jail Americans indefinitely without a trial. Amendment I: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Freedom of association: To assist terror investigation, the government may monitor religious and political institutions without suspecting criminal activity. Amendment VI: ... to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. Right to legal representation: The government may monitor conversations between attorneys and clients in federal prisons and deny lawyers to Americans accused of crimes. Amendment I: Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ... Freedom of speech: The government may prosecute librarians or keepers of any other records if they tell anyone the government subpoenaed information related to a terror investigation. Amendment VI: ... to be confronted with the witnesses against him ... Right to liberty: Americans may be jailed without being charged or being able to confront witnesses against them. US citizens (labeled "unlawful combatants") have been held incommunicado and refused attorneys.

This is only a small portion of lost freedoms, don't believe me, go look it up.