Red light cameras installed and ready for busy Redding intersection
REDDING, Calif. - In Redding there are five intersections with red light cameras already installed. Soon, the intersection at Hilltop drive and Cypress avenue will become photo-enforced. "Hilltop and Cypress on our monthly data always within the top 5, normally within the top 3, as one of the top accident intersections for the city, " said Redding Police Sergeant Brian Barner. Crews have installed the cameras but they hadn't been turned on as of Wednesday. A red light ticket cost $469 but the City of Redding nor the Redding Police Department will see a profit. Barner said the money collected from the violations goes to the company who runs the cameras, Red Flex. "Some people thought it was a money maker for the city, which its not. Its all about community safety and being able to have 24 hour red light enforcement at dangerous intersections," Barner said. "The City of Redding and police department is not in the business to make money off of writing tickets. it's about making people safe, the community safe, and for people to stop at intersections when the light is red."
Barner said the Cypress avenue and Hilltop drive intersection is dangerous.
"It's one of the busiest in the city, so that's another reason it has a high amount of traffic collisions," Barner explained.
Barner said accidents at the intersections that already have red light cameras have dropped 40 percent. He also said violations have dropped 15 percent since 2013.
"The number one priority of the red light camera is for traffic safety and community safety," Barner shared.
Once the cameras start working there will be a 30-day grace period during which a driver caught running a red light will only get a warning.
