COLORADO SPRINGS – Alert drivers may notice some new equipment along on south side of Platte Avenue near the Citadel Mall. The city has installed new red light cameras here, one of four intersections where they’re planned.
The cameras made by and operated by American Traffic Solutions which rebranded as Verra Mobility last year following a merger. Drivers who run a red light are typically sent a ticket in the mail.
A demonstration video uploaded to YouTube by Verra Mobility explains that the cameras project radar beams onto the road. As vehicles pass through the beam, their speed, trajectory, and distance are tracked.
This investment in new infrastructure comes at a time when state lawmakers are debating a bill to ban red light cameras. House Bill 1099, sponsored by Weld County Republican Rep. Stephen Humphrey, calls for the elimination of the use of automated vehicle identification systems for traffic law enforcement. Similar legislation was defeated last year. The bill will have its first committee hearing on Wednesday.
Colorado Springs is coming off of its deadliest year for traffic fatalities with 48 in 2018. Mark Bittle, the sales and marketing manager at Hanson Hotspring Spas, says he sees and hears many accidents from inside his store at Dublin Boulevard and Academy Boulevard.
“We hear a lot of screeching tires, we hear a lot of honking,” Bittle said.
A red light camera was recently installed at this intersection as well. Bittle hopes the cameras will improve traffic safety both here and around the city.
“We’re certainly appreciative that the camera is up there just because we want people to slow down, we want people to be safe out there and drive so that they can get home and enjoy their hot tub,” he said.
Cameras were also installed at Lexington Drive and Briargate Boulevard. They are planned for a fourth intersection, Academy Boulevard at Carefree Circle, but are not yet installed.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story inaccurately stated that red light cameras were installed at two intersections when there are actually three. The previous version also inaccurately described on the location of one of the intersections as being at Briargate Parkway and Lexington Drive instead of Briargate Boulevard and Lexington Drive.
