CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Officials remain tight-lipped about whether controversial red light cameras will be part of the City of Charlotte's new Vision Zero safety initiative. The city, through a spokesperson, said we should have answer in 2019.
"The Vision Zero Action Plan, which is being developed, will outline strategies for traffic safety," Britt Clampitt said. "A date has not been finalized."
Charlotte suspended its red light and speed camera program, a mainstay from 1998 to 2006, amid financial concerns after a court ruled the city had to give almost all of its proceeds to schools.
Debate over the controversial traffic safety cameras re-emerged earlier this year as the number of deadly car crashes in the Charlotte area increased. Many city council members kept an open mind to the idea, but put off a vote while they waited for more data.
Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt has remained a supporter of red light cameras.
"It will be brought up in the Vision Zero presentation which will come before Council next month," she said. "I do not know if they will recommend it or not."
Councilmember Braxton Winston said he remains opposed to the idea. He said he prefers alternatives that don't punish people, especially low-income residents.
Charlotte has spent a significant amount of time developing Vision Zero, a safety program aimed at eliminating fatal and serious injury crashes altogether.
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Up until this point, officials haven't said what kind of enforcement they'll recommend as part of their action plan, but they have begged drivers to stop blowing through intersections.
"The basic three Es still come into play: engineering, education and enforcement," Charlotte Traffic Safety Manager Angela Berry said earlier this year. "(Drivers) really just need to be careful, don't run that yellow light, don't speed, take your time."
As it stands, only a handful of North Carolina cities use red light cameras, including Raleigh, Greenville, Fayetteville and Wilmington. Last time Charlotte used them, records indicate intersection crashes declined by 30 percent.
Still, drivers we talked to said they don't like them.
"Rather not see them," Melvin McQueen said. "They're kind of a pain."
Attorney Lawrence Margolis finds a greater problem with them.
"There's no proof other than a picture. You don't have an officer or anybody else stopping you," he said. "There's no witness there, so I don't really see how you can make a case against somebody."