In a victory for the Tampa Police Department, the Tampa City Council Thursday morning narrowly approved a proposal to install red light cameras in different 20 intersections throughout the city. The measure passed on a 4-3 vote, after the previous council two weeks ago had deadlocked at 3-3, bringing the issue back before the newly elected council. The TPD says those 20 intersections have had the most most red light cameras accidents in information culled from 2008-2010.
Two arguments made against the proposal during the previous discussion on the issue resurfaced today One was the concern that the monies derived from the fines for those caught running red lights would go into the general fund and not to a specific division that could improve the safety of those particular intersections. The other was that the cameras were being placed disproportionately in African-American neighborhoods.
But the issue of where the funds would go appeared to be addressed to an extent when Mary Mulhern, who sided with Council Chair Charlie Miranda on the earlier vote about such concerns, said her overwhelming concerns for pedestrian safety meant that she would support the proposal this time around. She then asked Miranda and Yolie Capin, who also said she wanted the money to go to intersection improvement, if they could say specifically then where they would like that money to be redirected, if out of the general fund?
Capin said that she believed it could into Traffic Engineering. City Attorney Chip Fletcher said that in fact when the council discusses the budget later this year they could redirect the funds at that time. That didn't change the minds of Miranda and Capin, but the Council chair did say after the vote that he certainly wouldn't forget that option when the budget came before the board.
In addition to Mulhern, new members Mike Suarez, Lisa Montelione and Harry Cohen also voted to support the red light cameras.
This article appears in Apr 7-13, 2011.