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Politics & Government

City Council Narrowly Approves Red Light Camera Contract

The council voted 4-3 to approve a revised contract with Redflex for the continued operation of five red light cameras in San Leandro.

In a 4-3 decision Monday night, City Council approved a revised contract to operate five red light cameras in San Leandro for an additional eight years.

The city will sign a contract with Redflex Traffic Systems worth more than $2 million to operate the red light cameras for $5,200 per month per camera for the coming fiscal year, with the price potentially rising to nearly $6,000 per month per camera by 2018. 

San Leandro first approved the installation of red light cameras administered by Redflex in 2005; the company is the only one approved by Alameda County courts.

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The motion passed with approval from Vice Mayor Ursula Reed and Councilmembers Jim Prola, Joyce Starociak and Diana Souza.

Mayor Stephen Cassidy and Councilmembers Pauline Cutter and Michael Gregory voted against approving the contract.

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Councilmembers were the contract at their April 4 meeting, but while the contract was revised.

The updated contract caps the yearly per camera price increase at 2 percent of the Consumer Price Index. It also allows the city to suspend a camera at an intersection under construction without penalty, since that camera would presumably be catching fewer red light violations because of slowed traffic. 

In addition, the revised contract gives the city a way out if a substantial change makes it unfeasible for the city to operate the cameras, such as if California courts determine the cameras are illegal or if the state legislature passes a bill prohibiting the ticketing of motorists caught on cameras making a right turn on a red light.

The city can terminate the contract after the fifth year if a financial review shows that the program can’t pay for itself and for at least $5,000 in police staffing costs per month. The financial review is to be carried out at the end of the fourth year of the contract.

During Monday night's council meeting, Mayor Cassidy negotiated with Redflex representative Chuck Uhler to strike an item from the contract that would have continued the monthly fee if the city had deactived the cameras due to roadway construction.

City staff negotiated the initial $5,200 per camera per month cost down from a $5,700 starting figure for a five-year contract and $5,400 for a seven-year contract. The concession was a longer contract — eight years. 

It was the length of the contract that led Cutter to her no vote.

"I'm uncomfortable with this contract because it is so long," she said. "I can't see tying the city up for eight years with something that I don't think will be in our best interest."

Gregory, too, said the contract's length was cause for concern, as was spending so much money, given the city's financial situation.

He also said he was not sold on how effective the cameras were at improving safety. He secured from Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli a promise to report to the council annually on traffic data at intersections with red light cameras.

Reed and Prola, though ultimately voting yes, also expressed reservations about the contract.

"I am concerned about the safety (effectiveness). I am concerned about the eight-year contract. I am concerned that we're spending quite a bit of money," Reed said.

But Reed, who said she had not read the updated contract until Monday night, said the visibility of cameras, whether they operate or not, serves as a deterrent to potential red light runners.

Prola said that, although improved, the contract is not the best the city could have negotiated. He voiced concern over the cost of installing additional cameras, which stands at $6,300 per month per year under the contract.

"If I had to vote on that, I'd vote no," he said. "It seems like a pretty sweet deal for (Redflex)."

But in the end Prola, who sometimes rides his bicycle around town and said he has repeatedly been nearly hit by vehicles, said red light cameras help make San Leandro a safer city.

"Whether (the program) makes a little money or loses a little money isn't my main concern; safety is," he said. "I don't think you can put a price on a life."

Chief Spagnoli  told the council that safety was the purpose of the cameras.

The intersections where the city has chosen to place red light cameras are "extremely dangerous for staff to work in" and are also a danger to pedestrians, she said. Spagnoli said the department hopes that by notifying drivers of the cameras, potential red light runners will change their behavior and obey the lights.

Collisions at the five intersections with red light cameras dropped 30 percent between the four years prior to installation (2001-2004) and the four years after the red light cameras were first installed (2005-2009), from the city's Engineering and Transportation Department.

"We feel 30 percent is a significant number," Spagnoli told the council. "That's why we're recommending furthering the program."

Nevertheless, 65 percent from 2002 to 2010 during roughly the same time period.  

Mayor Cassidy said the city didn't have enough evidence to conclude that red light cameras have a significant impact in reducing collisons. He also said red light cameras "don't create a welcoming environment" for people visiting the city.

He called the typical $500 red light camera fine "outrageous." (The fine is the same if the ticket is written by a police officer.)

Despite his opposition, Cassidy said the updated contract is "much better and protects the financial interests of the city."

None of the intersections ranked as the most dangerous in the city transportation department’s most recent analysis have red light cameras installed.

Police Chief Spagnoli said after the meeting that this was due to the formula used to rank intersections. For example, those intersections with a low volume of cars but a high rate of accidents will have a higher rank than intersections that are much busier but have slightly less accidents.

The city has to look at the whole picture when deciding where to place red light cameras, Spagnoli said.

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