May 07--Drivers in Chicago deserve to know three things about the city's red light enforcement cameras: Are they fair? Are they safe? Are they necessary?
Two years worth of reporting by Tribune reporters provide plenty of reason to question all of those things. The watered-down reforms passed Wednesday by the City Council do little to change that.
One a positive note: Under the ordinance, the city won't install new cameras at any intersection unless it's equipped with pedestrian countdown timers. Every intersection that already has cameras must have timers by June.
The timers are meant to help pedestrians cross the street safely, but they also give drivers an indication of how long before the light will turn yellow.
But the measure doesn't address the length of the yellow light cycle, one of the most crucial safety issues identified by experts consulted by the Tribune.
Traffic safety researchers say the city's practice of setting yellow light intervals at three seconds -- the minimum under federal guidelines -- creates a hazard at intersections where drivers need more space to stop safely.
The yellow cycle should take into account variables such as the size and layout of the intersection and the prevailing speed of vehicles -- not the posted speed limit, the experts say. The city's own data, obtained by the Tribune through public records requests, show that the yellow lights should last at least 3.5 seconds at intersections where the posted speed limit is 30 mph, the experts concluded.
In Chicago, the yellow light interval is three seconds at virtually all intersections equipped with cameras. For several months last year, the city issued tickets based on a 2.9-second threshold.
The draft ordinance proposed by Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, and Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, called for the yellow interval to be based on a traffic speed study, with a minimum of 3.2 seconds. There's zero mention of yellow light intervals in the revised ordinance, hammered out between aldermen and Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration.
Also missing is a requirement for the city to conduct a safety assessment of an intersection to demonstrate the need for cameras before installing them. That's to assure drivers that the cameras are deployed where they're likely to prevent accidents -- not where they'll raise the most money.
A 2013 review by Inspector General Joe Ferguson turned up no records to support the city's claim that cameras were installed at the most dangerous intersections or that they reduced accidents at those locations.
When Tribune reporters asked for documents to gauge the safety and effectiveness of the cameras, the city fought long and hard before turning them over.
Last year, the Tribune paid for an independent scientific study using that data, the first of its kind for Chicago. It found that at nearly half the intersections, the cameras have done little to make drivers safer. The study raised questions about why the cameras were installed at dozens of intersections where few accidents had occurred. Most of those cameras are still up.
Under the new ordinance, city officials must hold a public hearing before installing new cameras. But that's a hollow exercise, since they won't be required to do a study to justify the need.
We're not encouraged by the measure's call for an outside review of the entire red light camera system. The ordinance includes no specifics about the information sought, no deadline and no required follow-up. There's no commitment whatsoever from aldermen to ensure that the promised reforms are delivered. It's lip service.
Where's the sense of urgency we heard in January, with city elections fast approaching and 49 percent of voters calling for removal of the cameras?
A City Hall news release says the research will be used to "recommend changes to policies and protocols to improve the effectiveness of the program." It's unclear to us why that requires an ordinance, why the city didn't do such a study long ago -- and really, why the taxpayers should pay for a review that the Tribune and its experts have already done for them.
The problems with Chicago's red light cameras are well documented. These so-called reforms do little to fix them.
