Aurora red light corners see slight drop in crashes

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The intersection at Route 34 and Eola Road is now equipped with a red light camera as of Friday, January 7, 2011.

By the numbers

Aurora’s red light cameras

Intersection Pre-installation accidents Post-installation accidents percent difference

New York and Commons 22 21 4 percent decrease

New York and Farnsworth 19 14 26 percent decrease

*Farnsworth and Molitor 12 17 42 percent increase

New York and Eola 32 24 25 percent decrease

Route 34 and Eola 50 49 2 percent decrease

Five intersection total 135 125 7.5 percent decrease

*intersection was out of commission most of year

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Updated: March 11, 2012 8:46AM

AURORA — They’re the newest tool police departments employ to decrease traffic accidents, but to date, red light cameras haven’t been extremely effective at curbing crashes in Aurora.

At the five locations they are installed in the city, there were a total of 10 fewer accidents at the intersections in the 12 months after installation than in the 12 months before, or a 7.5 percent decrease, according to Police Department counts. There were 135 total accidents at the five intersections before the cameras were installed, and 125 after the installation.

Cameras at the intersection of Farnsworth Avenue and Molitor Road were out of commission for a large part of the year, and the intersection experienced an increase in accidents, said Aurora Police Chief Greg Thomas. Taking that intersection out of the red light study, there were 15 fewer accidents at the four remaining intersections than before they were installed.

Thomas said overall, he’s happy with the red light camera program, but he was hoping for a double-digit percentage reduction in accidents.

“The goal has always been to reduce accidents,” Thomas said. “I don’t think it was as good as we had hoped, but I’m satisfied with the 7.5 percent decrease. That’s a lot of people we’ve prevented from getting in crashes.”

Red light cameras are at five of the top 28 intersections in the city at which car crashes occur most often. Thomas said those 28 intersections had 20 or more car crashes in 2011.

Red light cameras have been installed at: Eola Road and Route 34, where the most accidents occur; Eola Road and New York Street; Farnsworth Avenue and Molitor Road; Commons Drive and New York Street; and Farnsworth Avenue and New York Street.

The city began installing red light cameras in 2009 and has installed nine cameras to date.

Aurora crews installed four cameras in September 2009 and two in 2010. Cameras at Eola Road and Route 34 and Farnsworth Avenue and New York Street went up in early 2011.

Despite an uptick in 2011, overall crashes in Aurora have been on a downward trend. In 2007, there were 6,160 crashes in the city; in 2008, there were 5,911; in 2009, 4,941; in 2010, 4,842; in 2011, 4,942.

Thomas said it’s hard to say why the number of accidents in 2011 increased, but it could have been related to the February snowstorm.

A majority of car crashes occur early in a year, Thomas said. About a month into 2012, Aurora is on track for a 17 percent decrease in total car accidents, but that number could change as the year progresses.

Thomas said installing red light cameras were the department’s latest strategy to curb crashes.

“If you keep doing the same thing, you keep getting the same results,” Thomas said. “You’ve got to do new and better to keep being successful in bringing (the rate) of accidents down.”

Revenue and cost

Think the city’s making big bucks on red light cameras? Think again.

According to police records, the city brought in $721,900 in revenue from the red light cameras in 2010, but the city’s profit was $289,863. In 2011, the red light tickets generated $819,400 in revenue, but the city’s profit was $232,106. The difference in profit comes as the city pays Redflex, the red light camera system the city uses. The city also incurs costs related to hearings and a hearing interpreter.

The city paid Redflex $424,694 in 2010 and $579,282 in 2011. The amount increased in 2011 because the Arizona-based company charges a certain amount for each camera, Thomas said. The company also charges a fee for each ticket.

Of the 700 to 1,000 red light tickets that are issued each month, 25 to 30 people request a hearing, Thomas said. About 20 people will show up to the hearing, he said.

A red light ticket amounts to a $100 fine.

Alderman Lynda Elmore, 10th Ward, who originally asked for an update on the red light cameras, said the 2012 budget allots for no income revenue from the cameras.

Thomas said the projected revenue is hard to estimate.

“We expect the downward trend to continue,” he said, adding that he’d expect the city to bring in about $150,000 in tickets in 2012.

Citizen complaints

Thomas said common complaints from citizens have not changed since the cameras were installed. Thomas said residents complain that the city is trying to make money off of the cameras, the yellow lights are too short or that the cameras actually increase the possibility of a rear-end collision.

“The 4.5 seconds at yellow lights has not changed,” Thomas said.

Mayor Tom Weisner said the red light cameras are not meant to generate revenue for the city; instead, they’re meant to make the intersections safer and reduce the number of crashes.

Thomas said the Police Department is considering installing another camera at Routes 34 and 59 in 2012.

Placing the cameras

Although residents may have concerns about an intersection in their neighborhood, there are guidelines that may be preventing the city from installing cameras at a certain location.

An intersection at Galena Boulevard and Orchard Road, for example, is in Kane County’s jurisdiction, Thomas said.

“Orchard causes a lot of problems, but we don’t have the authority (to install a camera there),” he said.

At a meeting this week, Alderman Rick Mervine asked if police have asked Kane County to add a red light camera on Orchard Road.

Thomas said he had.

“I don’t think they’re going to change (their mind),” he said.

Trouble intersections along Lake Street (Route 31) can’t have lights installed, either, because the Illinois Department of Transportation has control of the state highway, Thomas said.