Red Bank shutters traffic cameras

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

After six years, Red Bank has given its traffic cameras the red light.

Minutes after a handful of residents spoke out Tuesday against how the cameras have hurt the city's image and businesses, Red Bank commissioners voted 4-1 to ax the city's four traffic cameras, which cite motorists who speed and run red lights at the city's busiest intersections along the city's main artery, Dayton Boulevard.

The lone holdout for keeping the cameras was Commissioner Ruth Jeno, who said that the cameras' effect on safety was more important than their impact on business or city coffers.

"I don't feel like that we can afford to hire more police officers to patrol Dayton Boulevard," she said. "The majority of citizens in Red Bank have asked me to vote to keep the cameras and keep the police officers off Dayton Boulevard and in our neighborhoods, because crime is rising."