Carpentersville advances red-light cameras – The Courier News

CARPENTERSVILLE — Edward Dennis, project coordinator for Carpentersville Police Chief David Neumann, said he has a stack of paper 6 inches thick on his desk. All are accident reports he’s analyzing to see where they occurred and how many may have been caused by red-light violations.

There’s one intersection Dennis already has targeted as a danger zone due to drivers running red lights or turning right without first stopping: Huntley and Randall roads.

“With about 100 accidents a year, we’re pretty confident a number of them are red-light-related,” he said.

That intersection, and the one at Routes 25 and 68, both have been targeted to get the village’s first red-light cameras.

Last week, the village board voted 4-3, with Village President Ed Ritter casting the tie-breaking vote, to allow red-light cameras at village intersections. It also approved an agreement with Arizona-based Redflex Traffic Systems to place those cameras at both intersections.

“There are just too many times yellow means ‘go faster,’” Ritter said at Tuesday’s board meeting.

“People have too many times disregarded the law for what’s convenient for them. I think cameras are the wave of the future — and the present.”

Ritter, Neumann and Trustees Kay Teeter, Judy Sigwalt and Keith Hinz all said the idea behind the cameras is traffic safety. And any revenue brought in by the cameras, which are expected to pay for themselves, will go to promote traffic safety in Carpentersville.

Trustees Brad McFeggan, Pat Schultz and Paul Humpfer voted against the cameras, with Humpfer calling them “the ultimate Big Brother.”

McFeggan said Wednesday he also thought appealing a $100 ticket from a red-light violation felt like “too much government involvement for something small like that.” And he’d seen red-light cameras in other municipalities flash at cars he was sure had stopped at lights before turning.

But Dennis said, “We don’t intend to give anyone a ticket for stopping a foot after the stop line. The ones we’re looking at are the people whose brake lights don’t even come on. They’re not slowing down at all.”

The intersection at Huntley and Randall already is marked with “No turn on red” signs, he noted. And several Redflex employees will view video of each violation before sending it on to Carpentersville police for final approval.

McFeggan said his main reason for voting against the cameras was because state lawmakers currently are considering several bills that would curb or eliminate their use. In fact, the night the Carpentersville Village Board voted for red-light cameras in the village, the state Senate voted to create a special subcommittee to discuss red-light camera legislation.

“I wanted to table it,” McFeggan said. “I thought it was a little premature to make a decision before the state.”

Kane County transportation officials also are studying whether cameras placed at two Randall Road intersections Monday effectively catch violators and reduce serious crashes. And Elgin has put the brakes on red-light cameras in the city after the Illinois and Kane County departments of transportation turned down its requests to put cameras at a few Randall Road intersections.

The camera proposal for Huntley and Randall now must go to the Kane County Division of Transportation, and the camera at Routes 72 and 68 must be reviewed by the Illinois Department of Transportation before they can be placed. With approval, the village plans to have the cameras in operation by October or November.

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