Police suggest red-light camera sites

Intersections mostly on Harbor Boulevard will be in focus if council votes with police proposal.Costa Mesa police are recommending locations for seven new cameras to be installed, which would complete the final phase of placing 20 cameras to catch drivers who run red lights at Costa Mesa intersections.

The Costa Mesa City Council considered the recommendation at a study session Tuesday. The proposal will come before the council at a later date.

The city has had red-light cameras since June 2003. The cameras now monitor 15 approaches to four intersections. For placement of the remaining cameras, police recommended seven approaches at four intersections -- Harbor Boulevard and Gisler Avenue, Harbor Boulevard and South Coast Drive, Harbor Boulevard and Baker Street, and Victoria Street and Placentia Avenue.

The recommended locations are chosen based on traffic volume, the number of accidents and red-light runners, among other things, said Costa Mesa Sgt. Rich Allum.

To be considered for a camera, the intersection must have a certain amount of red-light violations to warrant the expense of a camera, Allum said.

Since the controversial cameras were installed, more than 5,000 tickets have been issued. City officials say the cameras reduce accidents in the monitored intersections.

Mayor Allan Mansoor said that he doesn’t doubt the cameras’ effectiveness but that he believes there are other options to catch red-light runners.

“I just have a bad feeling about so many cameras being everywhere,” said Mansoor, who was not on the council when the cameras were approved in September 2001.

As long as the red-light cameras keep coming, people will continue to fight their tickets.

Attorney Fred Fascenelli, who has an office in Newport Beach, specializes in taking on cases for those who’ve been caught by the cameras.

“I fight them all the time, and I’m bothered by them,” Fascenelli said.

The cameras do significantly reduce accidents, but the they also serve as huge revenue generators for the city, Fascenelli said.

“When you talk about cash cows, these lights are them,” Fascenelli said.

Following discussion at Tuesday’s study session, the camera locations will be added to a future City Council agenda, Mansoor said.

Once approved, the cameras will be in place within 60 to 90 days, Allum said.

QUESTION

Did police make the right suggestions for where red-light cameras should be installed? Call our Readers Hotline at (714) 966-4664 or send e-mail to [email protected]. Please spell your name and tell us your hometown and phone numbers for verification purposes only.20060112hf04nhkfMARK C. DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Police on Tuesday suggested seven new locations, mostly on Harbor Boulevard, for red-light cameras.