Fayetteville removed the cameras last year after the state required 90 percent of fines to go to schools. The city said it could not afford to pay for the service with the remaining 10 percent.
FAYETTEVILLE -- Red-light cameras might be coming back to Fayetteville to catch drivers running stop lights. Fayetteville removed the cameras last year after the state required 90 percent of fines to go to schools. The city said it could not afford to pay for the service with the remaining 10 percent.
It is a sight seen in Fayetteville all the time, cars running red lights. Teri Waldrop says she will sometimes squeeze the yellow light. "I do sometimes run the lights when they are yellow, so I do think a lot of people run the red lights."
School board member Greg West wants to change that. He proposed bringing back the red-light cameras after talking with the mayor. His colleague on the school board, Kim Fisher, thinks it is a good idea.
"The city was very much interested in that for public safety reasons and the school system of course was concerned about that,” said Fisher.
The money from fines would help a cash-starved education system. The school system used the $1.6 million it received during a three-year period to install cameras in school buses. The city told News 14 Carolina a year ago the cameras were responsible for reducing accidents and traffic violations by 11 percent.
The school board will now meet with companies who run red-light cameras to come up with a proposal.
Fisher knows first hand how effective the cameras can be.
"I know I was very conscientious when I would approach those intersections and I think it makes you a careful driver and makes you aware of your surroundings,” she said.
It is not just intersections where Fisher would like to see cameras, she would also like to see them in school zones to help slow down drivers. "It is because folks just are not paying attention that they are in a school zone and the time has started for them to slow down."
The school board will now meet with companies who run red-light cameras to come up with a proposal. That proposal will then be passed on to the school board for a vote.
Waldrop likes the idea of red light cameras but believes it will take more than a few cameras to slow down drivers and make them stop. "I don't think people will care though, I think some people will still do it,” said Waldrop.