The City Pays A Big Price For Losing Red Light Cameras

On Monday,  the city of Houston ordered American Traffic Solutions to turn off all 70 red light cameras installed at dangerous intersections in the city of  Houston.

Houston has collected  $44 Million in fines since 2006 when the cameras were installed and began catching red light  runners.  Much of that money was invested in public safety programs.  Mayor Parker says the city plans to aggressively enforce traffic laws at the intersections that will no longer have cameras, but the city’s efforts will be hampered by the lack of revenue.

At the same time the cameras were turned off,  Mayor Parkers says the city  took action to protect its interest, by filing suit in federal court seeking to terminate the red light camera contract with A-T-S .  

The contract is supposed to be good until 2014 and requires a 120 day termination notice.

“ATS agrees with the city that red-light cameras are effective safety tools that change behaviors and saves lives.,” said Charles Territo, Vice President of Communications for A-T-S. ” As disappointed as we are with the results we the respect the outcome of the election and have complied with the Mayor’s request to turn the cameras off.  We will now work with the city to find a fair and reasonable solution to resolving outstanding issues.”