The city's red light camera program is expanding to catch speeders at four new locations, including two in Northwest D.C.
Drivers speeding through intersections at the 4700 block of MacArthur Boulevard NW, the 2800 block of Benning Road NE, the 100 block of Michigan Avenue NE and the 5400 block of 16th Street NW will receive tickets in the mail.
"Photo enforcement cameras are a major element of our overall strategy to prevent needless injuries and deaths caused by reckless drivers," said Police Chief Charles Ramsey on the Metropolitan Police Department Web site.
D.C. was the first city in North America to install a stationary red light radar camera to catch speeders in February 2004, according to the MPD. It has been using radar cameras in police cars since 2001. Police claim that since they started using radar cameras, the number of speeders in the camera zones decreased from one in three drivers to one in 25.
There has been controversy over whether the red light camera program is being expanded to increase safety or revenue.
Mayor Anthony A. Williams sent a letter to D.C. Council Chairwoman Linda W. Cropp asking her to approve expanding the program to "ensure the continued processing of District tickets and the collection of District revenues," The Washington Times reported. He did not mention safety in the letter.
In response, Lon Anderson, an American Automobile Association mid-Atlantic official, wrote three council members a letter stating that the mayor not mentioning safety has increased the public's doubt about the red light cameras.
"The mayor failed to cite public safety as the overarching or compelling reason for the contract," Anderson wrote. "In fact, he never mentioned public safety at all. This omission only adds further urgency to the need for oversight hearings"
