Red Light Cameras (Chattanooga, Brentwood, Red Bank: fit in, high school, taxes)

[jkmewright]

For those who have a lead foot or teenage drivers check out this update on our local red light cameras:

City of Chattanooga

Ron Littlefield, Mayor

City of Chattanooga

Traffic Engineering

1250 Market Street

Chattanooga, TN 37402

For additional Information, contact: 311 Call Center

For Immediate Release

January 17, 2008

Red Light Cameras to Go in Effect

The City Traffic Engineers office announced today the following:

The warning phase of the red light cameras at the intersections of Brainerd Road at Moore Road and on M.L. King Boulevard at Pine Street/U.S.27 ramp will end on Thursday, January 17, 2008. The cameras at these two intersections will go live (i.e., $50 citations will be issued for violations) beginning on Friday, January 18, 2008.

The warning phase for the red light camera on Highway 153 at Gadd Road will end on Sunday, January 20, 2008. The camera at this intersection will go live beginning on Monday, January 21, 2008.

As a reminder, two other cameras- one on Highway 153 at Hamill Road and the other on 4th Avenue at 23rd Street- were put into operation this week and warning tickets are currently being issued. These intersections will go live in mid-February.

City of Chattanooga
Ron Littlefield, Mayor
www.chattan (broken link)! ooga.go v

Traffic Engineering
1250 Market Street
Chattanooga, TN 37402

For additional Information, contact: 311 Call Center

[TriDad]

go Ron go!

[beachbyrd]

How funny, TriDad just pointed the one out on Gadd and 153 to me yesterday....

[jkmewright]

I work close to the 23rd St/4th Ave one so this went out in a mass e-mail for all of us. My lil brother got caught at Ashland Terrace hehe I think the ticket was $50.

[gsn77]

It's outrageous! Next thing we know, we'll have cameras in our dining room to make sure we don't drink too much, and microphones in our living room to make sure we don't cuss too much... "I love Big Brother."

[TriDad]

Anyone catch the letter to editor from someone in Powells Xing saying that Red Bank is no longer a friendly place so he won't be shopping there anymore because they installed traffic cameras.

Anyone want to write in and say that Red Bank doesn't want law breakers there so he is welcome to stay away.

[gsn77]

"Law breakers?" We're talking about someone who accidentally goes through a yellow light a little too close to it turning red. Or someone who comes down the hill out of S-curves at 46 instead of 40.

We're not talking about Charles Manson or Ted Bundy, here.

What bothers me is this has absolutely NOTHING to do with safety (contrary to what our imbecile mayor says). I live on the edge of Red Bank and drive Dayton Boulevard twice a day--it's not like the intersection at Signal Mountain and Dayton Boulevards has ever been the "gauntlet of death." I work in a building on MLK; I can look out of the office window and see the MLK/Pine/Chestnut intersections--I have never once seen a wreck in those intersections.

Ahh, but I guess we can thank Mr. Ron for saving us from non-existent dangers while we wait for him to bring in as many out-of-town vagrants as can fit in his Homeless Hilton.

Thes traffic cameras are about nothing whatsoever except bringing in REVENUE--it's greed, pure and simple, no different than a medieval baronet who holds travelers at swordpoint until they pay a toll. If he would just say so up front and honestly, it wouldn't be quite so repugnant. But seriously--if the City needs more money, raise taxes. Quit spying on the people like we're all criminals in need of constant supervision.

[TriDad]

hmmmm...so what does everyone think? Is it more about raising money, or keeping everyone honest? Isn't it true that the number of accidents went down on the "S Curves" on Hixson Pike after they installed the traffic cameras?

I'm all for reducing the number of accidents, and find myself driving differently now that we have a little one in the back seat. Cameras or not....please drive safely!

[jkmewright]

I am a COMPLETE advocate of the S-curve cameras. If you only knew what WE did on those curves in high school LOL Let's just say "old school drifting". Those curves are dangerous and I was very happy to see someone do something about it. Now on to the cameras... They are in such odd places where traffic is high but wrecks are low that it makes me think it's a matter of revenue not safety BUT if it causes just ONE less wreck I am for it. By the way, where does that money go? Is it dedicated to something or just the general fund?

[beachbyrd]

I have mixed feelings about them. I remember in Los Angeles in the late 90's they had them in Brentwood at a really busy intersection, where traffic was so bad that people would often get stuck in the intersection. I was always so stressed about that intersection on my commute home. Not that anyone was going to have the speed in that traffic to purposefully run it, but just making sure I did not get stuck in the intersection on a red. It would sometimes appear that traffc was flowing well and then it would stop dead. It was like musical chairs, but let's see who gets stuck in the intersection.

In Chattanooga, I think the cameras on the S-curves are good. I think the red light cameras should only be at intersections where people often knowingly run red lights and these red light runners have caused accidents or close to it.

So there ya have it, for what it's worth