St Pete Florida moves to end red light cameras, the battle over refunds is ongoing
In a lopsided 6-2 vote, St Petersburg City Council members joined Mayor Rick Kriseman in ending the red light camera program, no later than September 30.
Kriseman sent a memo to council Wednesday evening, ahead of the meeting, as momentum to kill the cameras was mounting on council. He said when revenue fell below program costs, it would signal drivers had sufficiently changed their behaviors and the program could be retired.
“The program obviously had flaws from the beginning,” said council member Wengay Newton, who finally prevailed in his years-long quest to get rid of the cameras.
The number of tickets has dropped rapidly and Kriseman, a longtime advocate of the cameras, maintains they work and even considered discussions to move them to other intersections.
Council members Karl Nurse and Charlie Gerdes, both supporters of the cameras in the past, voted with their colleagues to kill the program.
Council Chairman Bill Dudley and Jim Kennedy were the only two who voted against the measure.
“It’s not about money,” Kennedy said. “It’s about safety.”
Kennedy also suggested adding more cameras, comparing the program to any other safety improvement that might cost the city money.
The city will now turn its attention to issuing refunds for tickets to drivers who were cited at intersections with improper yellow light times.
Kriseman has said he is against giving refunds.