Coalition Launches Red- Light Camera Campaign

Riding the wave of a successful traffic-calming movement, a New Haven coalition launched another attempt Friday to legalize the use of cameras to catch cars that blow red lights.

Similar efforts failed the last five years. Organizers said they hope this will be the breakthrough year.

Since the state legislative session began on Feb. 3, three state legislators, including New Haven’s State Sen. Toni Harp, have introduced bills that would give cities permission to install red-light cameras at intersections. When scofflaws run red lights, the cameras would snap photos of their license plates. The car owner would get a $100 fine. The bills would permit, not require, cities to use the cameras.

City and state elected officials gathered at the corner of College Street and North Frontage Road Friday afternoon to announce their support for those bills. They said it was an example of a dangerous spot where the cameras could come in handy.

Not everyone in the area was sold: One nearby passerby, a teacher, said he wants to reserve the right to run red lights ​“cautiously” when he’s late.

Before it can install the cameras, the city needs permission from the state. That’s where the ​“Red Light Camera Enabling” legislation comes in.

This will be the sixth year New Haven officials have supported such legislation. This year, a coalition of grassroots activists, state and local leaders are behind it.

Members of that coalition gathered on the sunny corner of College and North Frontage Friday. The group included: New Haven State Rep. Cam Staples, West Hartford State Sen. Jonathan Harris, New Haven State Sen. Martin Looney, Mayor John DeStefano, several current and former aldermen, and representatives of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and Yale-New Haven Hospital. The legislation has the support of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association and the New Haven police department, Assistant Police Chief Ken Gillespie announced.

The event was organized the Connecticut Livable Streets Campaign, a New Haven-based group that grew out of the local traffic-calming efforts in the city.

Former Fair Haven Alderwoman Erin Sturgis-Pascale, a coordinator at the Connecticut Livable Streets Campaign said that red light cameras would ​“prevent severe injuries and save dozens of lives in the state by reducing the number and severity of automobile crashes.”

Sturgis-Pascale was one of several speakers who sought to defuse one of the central arguments of those who oppose red light cameras: that it is allegedly an invasion of privacy.

“The need for this enabling legislation is a true public safety need and should not be derailed by theoretical deliberations about privacy that are not supported by case law or by reasonable analysis,” Sturgis-Pascale said.

We don’t care if someone is with their girlfriend or boyfriend and they’re not supposed to be,” said Mayor DeStefano. ​“We’re taking pictures of license plates, not of people.”

Twenty-five states have already passed similar legislation, DeStefano said.

DeStefano also sought to dispel another notion about red-light cameras: that it’s just a money-making venture. ​“This is not about collecting fines from the tickets,” he said. ​“If the legislature wants us to, we’ll be glad to commit all that money to further safety improvements on the streets of New Haven.”

“There is no reasonable expectation of privacy when you’re breaking the law,” said State Sen. Harris. A photo of one’s license plate is actually far less of an incursion on one’s privacy than being pulled over, he said.

Asst. Chief Gillespie said that it can be difficult for police to catch red-light-runners at intersections like the corner of College and North Frontage. ​“If you look at the intersection behind you,” Gillespie said, ​“there’s no place I can safely position a police officer to monitor this intersection for red light violations.”

Gillespie later said that New Haven has a particularly high rate of traffic violations. ​“Much worse than what I’ve experienced in southern California,” he said. When Gillespie and Chief James Lewis came to New Haven from California, they were both surprised and the number of ​“hazardous moving violations that seem to be an ongoing problem here in Hew Haven,” Gillespie said.

While red light legislation has the support of a ​“broad-based coalition,” as State Sen. Looney put it, it still has a difficult hill to climb in Hartford. The bill will have to pass through three committees, Looney explained — the Transportation, Planning and Development, and Judiciary Committees.

Dreams Of Lisa

For Sturgis-Pascale, the quest for quest for safer streets is more than just a passing interest. She has a very personal connection to the problem of red-light running. Her friend Lisa Tribanas was struck in her car and killed in 2006 when a driver ran a red light at the corner of Derby Avenue and the Boulevard.

“She had a green light,” Sturgis-Pascale said.

Sturgis-Pascale was pregnant at the time, and she began having dreams in which Triabanas would appear. She would be in her work clothes, looking disheveled, and would ask to see Sturgis-Pascale’s baby. They were upsetting dreams.

So when it comes to stopping red-light scofflaws, ​“this is not theoretical,” Sturgis-Pascale said.

The former alderwoman said that this year the quest to get the legislation passed is fueled by a critical mass of people interested in traffic calming in New Haven. ​“People are really engaged,” she said.

John Fears The Fine

But not everyone is in favor of the bill. John Cain, a second-grade teacher at Amistad Academy said that as a ​“cautious red light runner” he doesn’t want to have to pay for rushing through lights. Cain gave his opinion while walking at the corner of College and George, just a block from the press conference.

“Personally, I often run a red to yellow light,” Cain said. He added that he does so very carefully. ​“I’m always observant.” He said he’s never had a near miss.

Cain said he’s often running late, that’s why he sometimes motors through red lights. He’s not a fan of a fine for doing so. ​“I would probably be guilty,” he said.

Becca Levy and Marty Slade, however, were all for the bill.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Levy said.

She and Slade work near the corner of College and North Frontage. Slade said he sees people run red lights there every time he passes by.

“I think it’s a great idea, because it’s scary,” Slade said.