City to install more red-light cameras

The controversial red-light cameras in Costa Mesa are now clear of any legal issues, city officials said.

Cameras at two intersections -- Newport Boulevard at 17th Street and Newport Boulevard at 19th Street -- were suspended in February after one man successfully fought a citation, arguing that a light did not stay yellow long enough.

The court ruled that the city could not issue tickets for traffic-signal violations at those two intersections, because they are operated by Caltrans.

The city now has an agreement with Caltrans to set the yellow signal time in accordance with Caltrans standards, said City Attorney Kimberly Hall Barlow.

As a precaution, the city decided to issue warnings instead of tickets at the two intersections for a 30-day period following the court ruling, Barlow said.

Cameras returned to catching red-light runners several months ago, Barlow said. The city plans to install more red-light cameras, but officials aren’t yet sure just when and where.

Seven additional cameras are set to be installed, said Costa Mesa Police Lt. Tom Curtis, commander of the department’s traffic safety bureau.

The location of the cameras is still being decided, and it could be next year before they are working, Curtis said.

The city has had red light cameras since June 2003. The cameras now monitor 15 approaches to four intersections -- Newport Boulevard at 17th and 19th streets, Harbor Boulevard and Adams Avenue, and Bristol and Anton streets.

Since the cameras were installed, more than 5,300 tickets have been issued to drivers, Curtis said.

Meanwhile, the city’s still trying to find out whether the cameras are causing the city to lose money.

“We are in the process of working with the courts to ensure that we have an accurate accounting of the revenue received from our red-light cameras,” said Marc Puckett, the city’s finance director.

The revenue from red-light citations is difficult to track because the fines are mixed in with other revenue from other traffic citations, Puckett said.

Red-light ticket revenue first goes through the courts, which then issue the city a monthly revenue check, the police department’s Curtis said.

Costa Mesa is partnering with surrounding cities to request the county change how the ticket revenue is tracked, Puckett said.

The county needs to revise its accounting system in respect to the red-light tickets, he said.