Question of the Day: Are Red-Light Cameras Coming to Long Beach?

There's been talk of possibly putting a red-light camera at the corner of Long Beach Boulevard and East Park Avenue, the city's busiest intersection. At the City Council's May 17 meeting, City Manager Charles Theofan said that Nassau County wants the City of Long Beach to mount cameras there.

"We might consider it," Theofan said. "But since all of that money [from the fines motorists incur from driving through red lights] goes to the county, and none of it will go to us, at this time there's no serious consideration." Theofan noted that New York State law prohibits the county from sharing revenue from red-light cameras with other municipalities.  

A 2010 study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety revealed that one-third of drivers surveyed had run a red light in the previous 30 days. It's a statistic like this that has led to the spread of red-light cameras throughout Nassau County, including in neighboring Island Park and Oceanside.

Do you think about them while driving? Have they changed your driving habits? Have you ever received a traffic ticket in the mail for running a red light?

Long Beach Patch wants to know what you think of red-light cameras and whether you think they're making the roads safer?

Let us know how you think of them in the comments section below.