Y-City Considers Red-Light Cameras

Since July 1, when the city of Heath installed traffic signal cameras on State Route 79 more than 17,000 drivers have received tickets in the mail. Now the city of Zanesville is looking into red-light cameras, but they say it’s not about the fine money- it’s about safety.

For most drivers it’s the same reaction whether they’ve been caught by traffic cameras…

“They got me on the interstate for speeding, but I had it on cruise the whole time I wasn’t speeding, I don’t get in no big hurry,” says Tom Morgan, driver.

Or they’re just worried about getting caught by one…

“If you’re thinking of something else and then you hurry up and speed through the thing and you go over, then you get a ticket for that,” says Tascha Lutgen, driver.

But like it or not red-light cameras may be coming to a street near you.

“We contemplate placing these cameras, if we do it, in the school zones for the safety of the children and possibly one or two on Maple Avenue in conjunction with the ODOT safety grant,” says Mayor Butch Zwelling.

Authorities say the cameras would increase safety on the city’s busiest road and protect school children.

“We don’t have enough officers to put in every school district, in every school zone, so a camera could do the job of several officers and it would make our schools safer,” says Chief Eric Lambes, Zanesville Police Department.

But even though the intentions may be good, city officials admit there’s been some problems in other cities with cameras.

“The most negative thing that I have heard is how much these tickets cost,” says Robert Brandford, Safety Director.

“Some people had six tickets before they knew they had one violation,” says Mayor Zwelling.

Officials say they’ve learned from the mistakes other cities have made when implementing traffic cameras and they think that’ll help the process go smoother here in Zanesville.

“The mayor of Heath had a long talk with me and made me aware of how he went about it and how he wishes he had gone about it,” says Zwelling.

Mayor Zwelling says they’ll hold open hearings to get input and the cameras will not be secret.

“Everybody is going to know exactly where every camera is in advance,” he says.

They’ll also look in depth at what these red-light cameras entail.

“Sometimes the communities have gone into this and they really didn’t fully understand until they implemented it and then they found out there was a lot more to that then they were initially told,” says Brandford.

The Safety Committee will meet with two traffic camera companies to discuss the issue on September 17th.

Residents of the city of Heath signed a petition to place an issue on the November 3rd ballot, which will decide whether the city can keep the traffic cameras.