PORT ST. LUCIE — The Police Department plans to install cameras to issue red-light tickets at 10 intersections across the city that rank among the worst for crashes, right-angle crashes and red-light violation tickets issued.
The City Council voted 4-1 Nov. 10 to move forward with the plan, but specifics are yet to be ironed out.
The Police Department will take bids from companies to install and operate the cameras, but the City Council ultimately will approve any contract.
Cost of the program hasn’t been determined. Companies that operate traffic cameras often take a percentage of the revenue generated from the tickets, Police Chief Leo Niemczyk told councilmembers
Port St. Lucie Police cruiser.
The cameras would monitor red-light violations only and not the speed of vehicles passing through the intersections, police spokesperson Dominick Mesiti said.
The 10 locations recommended for camera installation are:
Cashmere Boulevard and St. Lucie West Boulevard
SW Tradition Parkway and SW Village Parkway
SW Bayshore Boulevard and SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard
Peacock Boulevard and St. Lucie West Boulevard
SW Gatlin Boulevard and SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard
California Boulevard and St. Lucie West Boulevard
SW Gatlin Boulevard and SW Savona Boulevard
S U.S. 1 and SE Lennard Road
S U.S. 1 and SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard
SW Bayshore Boulevard and SW Crosstown Parkway
The main goal of the cameras would be to decrease right-angle collisions, Niemczyk said. Signs will be posted informing drivers of upcoming cameras operations.
The only vote against a camera system was from Councilman Anthony Bonna, who pointed to the city’s goal of having zero crashes and policy of not passing legislation it knows may increase crashes. Bonna voiced concerns that fear of the cameras may cause drivers to brake aggressively or stop short of the white line, which could increase rear-end collisions. That’s possible, Niemczyk said, but right-angle collisions are far more dangerous, and deadly, than rear-end collisions.
Bonna kept the door open to supporting the camera program in the future, saying he had too many questions at this time to vote yes.
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Wicker Perlis is TCPalm’s Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Port St. Lucie Police Department looking at traffic ticket cameras