Group Against Red Light Cameras Takes to Streets as City Ponders Renewing Them

A small group of Murrieta residents held signs Monday near red light cameras they oppose.

Situated at the corner of Murrieta Hot Springs and Whitewood roads, some motorists honked or shouted support for the group. Many motorists said they had received tickets at the intersection.

Diana Serafin, the organizer of the group, called the cameras “big brother.”

“It’s a violation of the 14th Amendment. They are taking away our freedom. It is our right to make a mistake,” Serafin said.

Though she has never received a red light camera ticket herself, some in the group had. Serafin also said she has been videotaping the intersections to see if the length of the yellow lights comply with state law.

Yellow light intervals should be a minimum of 4.3 seconds in an intersection where the speed limit is 45, according to the California Department of Transportation.

“Safety is about making longer yellows and four-way reds,” Serafin said.

Signs urged residents to attend a City Council meeting Tuesday, during which the contract for the cameras will be discussed.

A five-year contract for a cameras installed at Murrieta Hot Springs and Margarita expired Jan. 12, but the City received a 30-day extension on it, according to a staff report. Contracts with the third-party company that owns the cameras, Amercian Traffic Systems, are set to expire at the two other Murrieta intersections within the year.

The company is proposing a three-year contract, which includes removing cameras at some intersections and adding them at others. Under the proposal, cameras at Nutmeg and Clinton Keith and Nutmeg, and at Margarita and Murrieta Hot Springs would be removed. A staff report states that at the Nutmeg and Clinton Keith locations, violations have gone from 25 per day in 2006 to 21 per month. At the Margarita intersection, violations have gone from 40 violations per day to 19 per month.

American Traffic Systems is proposing cameras at the southbound Interstate 215 off-ramp at Murrieta Hot Springs, the northbound Interstate 15 off-ramp at Murrieta Hot Springs, and northbound Madison Avenue at Murrieta Hot Springs.

The company recommended the cameras at Murrieta Hot Springs and Whitewood stay in place, but be upgraded to current hardware and software standards.

Further on in the report, however, City staff states the company and the City may have goals that are “different in nature” when it comes to the intersection at Madison and Murrieta Hot Springs. Staff said police department traffic accident records show the intersection has had only one accident in five years, resulting in a minor injury. The company picked that intersection based on the number of perceived violations it would generate, staff said.

The staff report also states rear-end collisions have gone up at the camera-monitored intersections, but said that may be a result of the increased population since camera installation in 2006.

Previously, Murrieta Police Cpl. Jay Froboese, who oversees the red light camera program, said most rear-end collisions are minor in nature, and that the cameras help prevent broadside and head-on collisions that can be major or result in fatality.

City staff is asking Council on Tuesday to weigh the cost and benefit of the program, and provide direction on whether to bring forward the new contract or let it expire. The company is asking for an 8 percent fee increase, bringing the City’s monthly cost to $21,035, or $255,660 per year. It costs $47,299 annually to staff three officers to run the program. Under the proposed contract, the City’s net annual revenue would drop from $18,419 annually to $4,703 annually.

Serafin, a member of Limited Government Political Action Committee (the group behind Murrieta Measures C, D and E), has said she plans to should the City decide to keep the cameras in place.

Tuesday's City Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall, One Town Square.