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COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST: RED LIGHT CAMERAS
Staff Contact and Presenter: Rick St. John, Chief of Police
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Purpose and Policy Guidance
Recommendation
This item is follow up to a Council Item of Special Interest brought forward by Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff at the February 21, 2017 Council Workshop. Councilmember Tolmachoff requested information regarding the possibility of red light cameras in the City of Glendale to help prevent accidents at dangerous intersections. Staff is seeking guidance from Council regarding moving forward with a red light camera study and which option will best meet the needs of the study.
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Background
Traffic safety and enforcement are top priorities for the Glendale Police Department. Accident data, as well as a 12-hour study conducted in October 2016 has shown that at intersections with traffic lights, speed and inattention contribute to red light related accidents. A three-year historical review of collisions from 2014 through 2016 determined that within the top ten (10) major intersections in the City of Glendale there were 2,258 collisions. Over that same timeframe, the following was noted:
* There were 74 fatal collisions
* There was a 72% increase in fatal collisions
* There were ten (10) red-light related fatalities
Analysis
If Council provides consensus to move forward, a red light camera study will be conducted in the City of Glendale. There are two options available to complete this study and staff is seeking Council's guidance.
The first option involves the Police Department choosing a 3-month period with relatively similar driving incidents per month at a specific problematic intersection. The first and last months would be monitored using routine enforcement, while the middle month would have a red light camera system installed. The Police Department would then measure the impact of the middle month with a camera system installed against the first month with no camera system, ...
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