Westchester County Considering Red Light Cameras
At a special meeting of the Board of Legislators last week, a measure asking New York State to give the county permission to consider passing a local law that would allow red light cameras at county intersections was approved by a 16-0 vote.
“The measure was passed in order to get it into the hands of state legislators quickly, because the state legislative session is ending. But this does not mean that the county is on the verge of installing red light cameras,” explained Board Chair Ben Boykin (D- White Plains).
In fact, if the state approves the request, the Board would still need to draft and vote on a new local law authorizing the cameras, a process that would involve careful consideration.
“Before any program actually moves forward, the Board will examine all issues regarding any specific proposal for implementation in cooperation with the relevant county agencies and departments and with the County Executive’s office,” Boykin said.
“That means looking at statistics on the impact of red light cameras on safety and on changing driver behavior, as well as looking at where any such cameras would go, before deciding if red light cameras are a good idea,” he added.
The Board also would examine how systems might work so as not to inadvertently flag drivers, as well as what the implications are, both for costs and for revenue. In addition, careful consideration would be given to the lessons learned by the cities of Mount Vernon, New Rochelle and Yonkers, which already have their own red light cameras in place, according to a Board press release explaining the proposal.
