By Chris De Benedetti
Oakland Tribune
NEWARK, N.J. — A picture may or may not be worth 1,000 words, but for Newark motorists caught running a red light, it’s not open for debate.
That particular picture, taken at one of the city’s five traffic-light cameras, is worth nearly $500 and a traffic citation.
And that fact has at least one Tri-City area motorist seeing red — and Newark officials strongly disagreeing with him.
Roger Jones, a retired Fremont resident, is calling for Newark to get rid of red-light cameras installed in recent years because he said the cameras have failed to reduce the number of auto collisions.
But, as Newark is getting ready to renew its agreement with Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., Jones has waged a one-man crusade against the camera systems, repeatedly telling local officials why the program started in August 2006 should be dropped.
While the citation revenue generated from the cameras may aid increasingly cash-strapped cities, they badly hurt a city’s quality of life by making residents feel unwelcome on their own roads, Jones said.
Also, Newark police could aid local drivers and improve traffic safety by adding a bit more “yellow-light-time” on the city’s traffic lights, he said.
Jones points to the 57,275 citations issued in the program’s 4½ years as being overkill. Chief among Jones’ complaints is that the red-light citations are a sign of what he calls “gotcha government,” where cities cynically place generating revenue over traffic safety.
“The money from the cameras is so enticing but it doesn’t improve public safety,” Jones said.
Newark police officials strongly disagree, saying that Jones is well-intentioned but simply doesn’t have his facts straight.
“This program was never about money; it’s always been about improving overall traffic safety in Newark,” Cmdr. Bob Douglas said.
For example, only 27,651 people — less than half of those originally cited — end up being fined, Douglas said.
The program generated $2.7 million in gross revenue from 2007-10, with around $1.5 million going to Redflex, according to Newark police.
“The program is cost-neutral; it’s a pay-for-itself kind of deal,” Douglas said.
Newark officials also dispute comments made about yellow-light timing, saying that the timing is set based on state standards, in addition to consultation with Newark’s engineering department.
In addition, Newark has set its yellow-light timing for 4.3 seconds at camera-installed intersections with a 35 mph limit — seven-tenths of a second above the state minimum for that speed limit, police Chief Jim Leal said.
“If the timing were below or above that, it would negatively affect traffic flow,” Leal said.
Newark police studied which intersections were the worst problem areas in terms of auto collisions before deciding where to place the red-light cameras.
“We didn’t just blanket the city,” Leal said. “We chose intersections specifically where we had high accident counts.”
Newark placed the Redflex cameras at five approaches at three intersections. They are:
Cherry Street and Mowry Avenue;
Northbound Cedar Boulevard and Mowry Avenue;
Westbound Mowry Avenue and Cedar Boulevard;
Northbound Newark Boulevard and Jarvis Avenue; and
Southbound Newark Boulevard and Jarvis Avenue.
Since installing the cameras in 2006, each intersection has seen a large decrease in auto collisions, Leal said.
According to police statistics, where there were 46 collisions at those three intersections from 2001-05 — the four-year period before cameras were installed — there were just 23 from 2006-10, years after cameras were added.
“We’ve had dramatic, dramatic reductions,” he said.
There is one statistic where red-light-camera critics and police find common ground: the citation fee, which now is $476.
“A red-light violation is very hazardous, but I don’t know that a $476 fine is necessarily a justifiable dollar amount,” Douglas said.
That $476 yields only about $160 per citation for Newark, once the approximately 15 state and county assessments are levied on the original fine, Douglas said.
“This program has always been about the safety aspect for us,” he said. “There’s still a human aspect to this.”
Copyright 2011 Contra Costa Newspapers