Cleveland won’t seek new red-light camera vendor

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Cleveland will not seek a new vendor when Traffipax turns off its five red-light cameras on March 31.

The Maryland company notified the city last week that the cameras were not financially feasible for Traffipax to operate.

Any motorist getting a citation based on the cameras through March 31, however, still must pay the fine.

Councilman Richard Banks made the proposal not to search for a new camera vendor.

“We need to get out of the red-light camera business for a while,” he said.

The question now is what the state General Assembly will do about red-light cameras, City Attorney John Kimball said. With many bills pending on the use of such cameras, state legislative action could influence what happens locally, he said.

Among the legislative proposals are putting a moratorium on red-light cameras while a study is done to determine whether statewide guidelines need to be instituted.

The pending bills address situations different from Cleveland’s, City Manager Janice Casteel said.

The city pays Traffipax $16,750 a month regardless of the volume of citations, she said. To ensure that motorists are aware of the cameras at the five intersections, the city posted warning signs in each direction, although the single camera at each intersection can look only one way.

“We didn’t lose money,” Ms. Casteel said, “but it was about public safety. I think they have changed our behavior as drivers.”

Depending on what happens during the state legislative session in Nashville, the city could revisit its red-light camera policy in the future, officials said.