Red Light Cameras Survive City Council Vote

Following a heated debate, St. Petersburg City Council voted 5-3 Thursday to keep the red light camera program, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Councilor Wengay Newton made a motion to end the contract with American Traffic Solutions, the camera vendor, with Councilor Leslie Curran making a second, according to WTSP.

"I think it's time for the council to invoke the only power we have," Newton said, according to the Times.

The discussion came up after Mayor Bill Foster imposed a moratorium last week in response to Pinellas County Clerk of the Circuit Court Ken Burke's letter asking St. Petersburg and five other cities to stop writing tickets for red light violations, arguing there are flaws in the system and that his office is spending a disproportionate amount of time dealing with the fallout from violators.

During the meeting Councilor Leslie Curran agreed with Newton and said the program is a money machine for ATS, according to the Times.

"They aren't so concerned to save lives and alleviate crashes. They're concerned for the number of dollars they can put in their wallets," said Curran, according to WTSP.

Mayor Bill Foster said he wanted to keep the program and plans to work with state lawmakers, WTSP reports. "We're gonna work with the legislature and certainly advocate two positions. One — don't kill the program because it does work, but two let's fix the inequities in the existing statute," said Foster, according to WTSP.

Council voted 5-3 to keep the cameras. Councilors Wengay Newton, Leslie Curran and Steve Kornellthe were the only members to vote to end the contract.

For now, the mayor's moratorium for people who appeal their citations under certain circumstances remains in effect.

Related Coverage:

• Mayor Halts Red Light Camera Citations in St. Pete
• Red Light Camera Company Fights Back Against Florida Critics
• Pinellas Clerk Asks St. Pete to Stop Writing Red Light Camera Tickets
• Red Light Cameras: Should They Go?

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