UPDATE: Huntsville City Council rejects adding red light cameras

Huntsville city council killed a proposal to add cameras to some intersections that would send automated tickets in the mail if you get caught running a red light in the Rocket City.

Council member Frances Akridge鈥檚 plan is to make driving safer, but using red-light cameras is a controversial topic.聽

Hers was the only vote in favor of the resolution at a meeting Thursday night, January 27, 2022.

She told 麻豆区 when she first proposed the system, 鈥淚t is not something new to our state. It is simply a matter of common sense."聽

Motivated by close calls and crashes, Akridge wanted one of her last actions on the Council to be focused on red-light runners. She is not seeking reelection this year.

鈥淜nowing people that have been injured, all of my mama-bear bells started to ring. I knew I had to do something," Akridge said.

Her plan would have include camera traps being installed throughout Huntsville.聽

鈥淭he only thing we can do to add to what the police can do 鈥� because they can鈥檛 do much more, because we are sprawling and there are fewer police officers 鈥� is to use an automated traffic enforcement,鈥� she said.

Critics said this is just a revenue generating ploy.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not about the money. If I wanted to raise revenue, we would be talking about lodging tax increases 鈥� those generate a lot more money," Akridge added.

Beyond the argument over dollar signs, other critics say the cameras actually cause more headaches where they are already in use. Drivers slam on the brakes, causing rear-end crashes as they try to avoid the camera鈥檚 flash and resulting fines in the mail.聽

鈥淚t is not a 'gotcha,'" Akridge said. "You are notified and told in advance that the intersection has a red light camera. You get a warning. It is not entrapment.鈥�

This is just the latest failed attempt to move ahead with red-light cameras in Huntsville.聽

鈥淏eing that we say we are a smart city and knowing that we can do whatever it is we need to do, I just said, 'Time is up.' We have to do something," Akridge explained.

To move the plan ahead, Akridge needed a resolution of support from the full council during this meeting. State lawmakers would have had to get on board to get a bill passed at the state level before Huntsville could get the green light for the red-light cameras.

The state has already approved red-light cameras in other Alabama cities, like Montgomery and Selma. But before it could move ahead, state law has to be rewritten, because current laws here require a sworn officer to witness a traffic violation before writing a ticket. The legislation is needed to allow an unmanned camera to act as a witness.聽

Learn more about red-light camera use