Red-light enforcement cameras set to come to Lower Merion
A recent study saw 339 red light violations within 24 hours at the intersection of Lancaster Avenue and Haverford Station Road.
Lower Merion is one step closer to installing red-light cameras at some of its busiest intersections.
The board of commissioners last Wednesday moved forward an ordinance that would allow the police department to install red-light cameras at designated intersections. The proposal, which saw wide support from the board and local law enforcement officers, will be officially voted on at its July 16 meeting.
Lower Merion’s red-light cameras would be installed through the Automated Red Light Enforcement (ARLE) Program, an initiative administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
ARLE is a state-run grant program that helps Pennsylvania municipalities install automated enforcement cameras at intersections where red-light infractions are a documented problem.
In the proposed program in Lower Merion, if a driver runs a red light with an ARLE camera, a video of the infraction is would be captured and sent to a township police officer. The officer would then review the video before issuing a ticket in the mail to the vehicle’s owner.
Rather than the standard red-light violation a driver receives if pulled over by a police officer — about $170 and three points on their license — the fine for a violation at a red-light camera is capped at $100, with no points. Tickets can be appealed in front of a hearing officer.
Lower Merion Police Superintendent Andy Block emphasized that the program is “not about generating revenue” but rather is designed to protect “the safety of our residents and citizens.”
Revenue generated from the program will cover administrative costs, and any residual money will go into a state-run fund that supports transportation enhancement projects across Pennsylvania. Townships participating in the ARLE program receive priority status when applying for these grants.
The Lower Merion Police Department contracted Sensys Gatso Group, a traffic-safety equipment provider, to conduct a preliminary study of four high-traffic intersections in Lower Merion.
The highest violation intersections were Lancaster Avenue and Haverford Station Road, with 339 violations within 24 hours, and Montgomery Avenue and Airdale Road, with 249 violations in 24 hours.
There were 83 violations at Lancaster Avenue and Remington Road and 93 violations at Spring Mill Road and Old Gulph Road; however, the intersection at Spring Mill and Old Gulph Roads is not a viable option for a red light camera, the report stated.
At the township meeting, Sgt. Matthew Colflesh said the police department was “very surprised at the amount of violations that we had within a 24-hour period.”
If the program is approved by commissioners in July, the first red-light camera will be installed at the intersection of Lancaster Avenue and Remington Road. Two cameras will be deployed facing Lancaster Avenue at the intersection — one for eastbound approaches and one for westbound. By starting with one intersection, the police department hopes to test and refine the process while gathering early data on the program’s impact.
“We want to start crawling before we start running,” Colflesh said.
According to the report presented to the commissioners, red-light monitoring on Philadelphia’s Roosevelt Boulevard has dramatically reduced serious and fatal crashes. A similar program has also been effective in Abington.
The proposal was met with strong support from the board.
Commissioner Sean Whalen said, “I am wildly in favor of this project moving forward.”
A similar proposal was floated in Lower Merion in 2013, but the board ultimately voted it down. Commissioner Daniel Bernheim, who was on the board when the 2013 proposal failed, said at last week’s meeting that there were concerns at the time about privacy. Now, he said, the board has a better understanding of what the videos captured by red-light cameras can and can’t be used for.
Under the ordinance considered by the board, images and videos taken by the cameras must be destroyed within 30 days. The recordings may be used only for traffic violations — not for other surveillance — and may not be released under Right-to-Know requests. Images and videos captured by red-light cameras will not be discoverable by a court or offered as evidence in any proceeding not directly related to the specific red-light violation.
According to the report provided by the police department, ARLE programs have produced mixed results. Though some communities in the Philly area have seen success with the program, concerns remain about privacy issues and increases in rear-end collisions at ARLE intersections.