NMA Community Alert for New Orleans, LA: Red-Light Cameras Under Attack in Jefferson Parish
If you want to stop the operation of red-light cameras (RLCs) in Jefferson Parish, Councilman Chris Roberts needs your support. Per this story from The Times-Picayune, Roberts wants to suspend the use of ticket cameras pending further investigation after he learned that Redflex Traffic Systems, the camera contractor, is planning to pay a politically-connected consultant a fixed percentage of the fines collected via the RLCs.
The ticket cameras have been in operation in Jefferson Parish since late 2007, and the revenue generated from the photo enforcement program has approached $20 million. Redflex arranged to pay the consultant, a former New Orleans City Council Member, 3.2 percent of the cash collected from motorists.
Now is the time to make sure all council members hear of your support of Councilman Roberts' plan to stop the ticket camera program. Please reach out to family members, friends and colleagues to do the same. Here is contact information for Parish council.
RLCs have been shown in study after study to actually increase intersection accidents. Make no mistake, the issue with the cameras is not about safety improvements, it's about generating cash at the expense of local motorists. Here is a link to the NMA's page on Ticket Cameras for more information. Convenient links to Photo Studies and Articles are provided so that they can be forwarded to the politicians.
We'd be remiss if we didn't add one more item to this email: On the matter of the little football game yesterday, Way to go Saints!
