Say Cheeeeeeeeeese!

In an article in last week's Journal & Topics, we learned that 3rd Ward Alderman Don DreadBach wants the Public Safety committee to Revisit Red Light Camera Idea for various and presumably dangerous intersections in Park Ridge.

According to the article, Ald. DreadBach was prompted into action because "a driver running through a red light broadsided the son of one of his constituents at Oakton and Greenwood Avenue." The article did not say if anyone was injured, and we hope nobody was. We would like to point out though that accidents are called accidents for a reason; nobody intends for them to happen. And personal experience alone or even along with anecdotal "evidence" is rarely if ever a good basis for determining public policy.

Setting aside for the time being our own visceral reaction to the continual surveillance of citizens, and serious constitutional questions about due process...

We'd also like to point out that red light cameras may reduce accidents according to some studies, but have also been shown to increase rear-end collisions in other studies where red light cameras have been installed. And we'd sure like to know exactly who is doing which studies and coming up with which findings. However, we feel it's safe to say that red light cameras cannot prevent accidents, they can merely record them. So while the Public Safety committee gets busy talking about ________ (fill in the blank with your buzzword of choice: risk-reduction, risk-mitigation, risk-management, risk-avoidance) be assured accidents can and will continue to happen.

The last time the Public Safety committee reviewed the issue of red light cameras was in February, 2007. Alderman DreadBach said he read the Public Safety meeting minutes 2/1/07 - pdf and "found several inconsistencies in the (minutes)." We are hoping that Ald. DreadBach can point out the inconsistencies he found - we have no idea what he could be referring to. We also hope he's read the excel traffic study, which appears to indicate the type of accidents that most often occur at the intersections studied are rear-end collisions; the second highest number of accidents involve turning vehicles.

We appreciate that Ald. DreadBach has stressed that his interest is strictly a matter of making Park Ridge streets safer - that red light cameras are not intended to be revenue generators. However, many if not most of the vendors who market their products and services to municipalities are far more shameless in their promises of increased revenue. Of the three red light camera vendors previously discussed by the Public Safety committee, one of those vendors, RedFlex promises to "deliver the most innovative, and comprehensive turnkey public safety programs that provide substantial benefits for our customers year-after year." Since municipalities are the customers, not the drivers, that sounds a lot like promising revenue generation.

The Journal & Topics article goes on to report that Ald. DreadBach "is not in denial or unhappy that the plan could do both" - reduce accident risks and generate revenue for the city. DreadBach goes on to say, "If it's going to add revenue to the city's general fund and make the streets safer, I'm not going to apologize for that," he stated.

Alderman DreadBach, you don't have to apologize for that, you just have to be honest about that.