The Red Light Camera Issue

Recently, Councilman Knode posted on his website (in the scrolling text section) his own take on the traffic committee meeting that covered the Red Light Camera issue. I made it clear that I was unable to attend that meeting when I briefly referenced the issue on this site earlier in the week. In my article that covered the City Council Meeting of 02/26/07 I mentioned several areas of concern I came across when researching the history of these devices. I went on to say:

The City, and the company seeking to bring their service into Overland will need to show how all of these various issues listed above are not a problem before we should seriously consider entering into a contract for this service.

Based on what I read about these cameras and the legal history associated with them I voiced concerns that I feel need to be addressed before the City should enter into a contract for this service.

On Councilman Knode's website he says:

So if you read someone else's report on the meeting and they give it a negative report, find out why before you decide who is telling the truth. Call ATS (American Traffic Solutions) representative Mr. Dan Reeb [I'm not reposting the phone numbers unless I hear from Mr. Reeb that he is OK with that]. You can also contact retired St. Louis County Police Chief Ron Battelle at [ not reposting the phone number unless I hear it is OK from Chief Battelle].

First, I would like to point out again, as I made clear in my article, I was not at this meeting. The concerns I voiced were with the cameras in general and the host of problems that have been associated with them in the past. I'd welcome hearing from either of these gentleman about the cameras. I 'd also like to hear what they have to say in regard to how their systems would not be subject to the same problems that have plagued other systems in the past.

As for American Traffic Systems (ATS) I would love to hear from them in particular in regard to the host of independent studies that suggest Red Light cameras may reduce "t-bone" type accidents at the expense of increasing rear end collisions.

I welcome hearing from Retired Chief Battelle as well. I would like to know what his opinion is on how easy these cameras are to defeat, and the potential for abuse of the system.

I'd welcome an opportunity to speak to Judge Vatterott to better understand the possible constitutional issues associated with these systems. I'd welcome a professional legal opinion on how this system, and Overland's use of it will be able to avoid the various lawsuits other municipalities have been subjected to, like the class action lawsuit I referenced in my last article.

Any of these folks (or anyone else) are welcome to contact me via email.

Based on what I've read about these systems so far, they look like a bad idea for Overland. The current administration has racked up some serious legal expenses for the City that continue to increase (like the current case in federal court were 4 of our fine Police officers have been forced to file suit against the city because the Mayor pulled there promotions will out following normal procedure or statute (as detailed here)). As a result I want to know that we are on solid legal grounds before proceeding with a system such as this. The last thing Overland needs is more lawsuits.

What intrigues me is that Councilman Knode doesn't seem interested in the various issues associated with this camera and suggests that we contact the company seeking this contract to get the truth. Why is is that Councilman Knode is ignoring all the issues raised? How can he expect us to support something with all these unanswered questions on the table? Is the company seeking the contract really the best source of information regarding all of these concerns?

I am always open to more information, and if this company and others can show that these cameras would be viable in Overland and would not put the City at a greater legal risk then I might be convinced to support it myself. Either way I would certainly present their information on this site.

On key area for me is whether or not a cost-benefit analysis has been done. I'd like to know how much this will cost the City for the service (including what's ATS's cut of each ticket issued?). I'd like to have the numbers and projections so we can compare them to what it would cost Overland to hire additional police officers for traffic enforcement. A human being is always a better law enforcement tool (and more versatile in emergencies) than a machine in my opinion Though sometimes additional Officers are not cost effective. I would like to see the hard numbers so we can judge this for ourselves.

However, considering Councilman, and Budget Committee Chairman Knode's record of getting hard numbers to the residents regarding the proposed "City Paid" trash service, Budget Proposals, etc, I'm not going to be surprised if no hard numbers are provided on this issue as well.

Councilman Knode suggested he could give us details before when asked about the various "City Paid" trash services:

We're still waiting for those details Councilman Knode.