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City Council Exempts Red Light Camera Contract From Boycott

Alexandra Tilsley |
June 28, 2010 | 11:40 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Red light camera.
Red light camera.
The Los Angeles City Council voted 13-0 on Wednesday to extend its contract with an Arizona-based company that runs the city’s red light camera program, less than two months after deciding to boycott Arizona in protest of the state’s controversial new immigration law.

The city will continue to contract with American Traffic Solutions, which is based in Scottsdale, Ariz. City Council members voted to exempt the contract from the boycott because of concerns about safety. One councilmember pointed out that there have been no deaths at camera-monitored intersections.

Others, however, noted that about half of the monitored intersections did not see a decrease in accidents. Some also expressed concerns about the cost of the program.

One councilmember worried about the response from the public and the media if the city severed the contract and someone was killed at an intersection that had previously been monitored by cameras. But it seems like this might have been a no-win situation for the council, since members of the public have said that passing the exemption makes the council seem “spineless” and hypocritical.



 

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