(Yuba County) Marysville City Council unlikely to remove contested red-light cameras

August 5, 2014

Insurancenewsnet.com

By Eric Vodden, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, CA

Aug. 05--Yuba County grand jury recommendations to remove two Marysville red-light cameras and limit right-turn violations at two others would not be followed under a proposed response to the jury's report.

The City Council tonight will consider its formal response to the June report that took on the automated computer controlled cameras designed to catch red-light runners in the city.

In it's proposed response, the city would not implement recommendations to remove red-light cameras at Third and F streets and at 10th and Ramirez streets. At both locations the grand jury recommended "engineering countermeasures" to minimize right-turn violations.

At Third and F, the proposed response states "there is no opportunity to have a right-turn green arrow without creating a safety hazard" at the intersection.

At 10th and Ramirez, it notes the intersection could accommodate improvements for eastbound right-turn movements.

A future project could add signals to allow a right-turn during the signal phase for northbound movements, it states.

But "other than during that phase, right turns would still require a stop on red to insure it is safe to proceed," the proposed response says.

The council will consider the 17-page response during its 5 p.m. meeting in the council chambers in City Hall. The meeting is being held earlier to allow council members to attend this evening's National Night Out gatherings.

The 2013-14 grand jury report released in June devotes more than a quarter of its 202 pages to red-light cameras. The report determined Marysville "has provided conflicting, nonrelevant and/or unsupportable data to justify the use of red-light cameras within city boundaries."

The city is under no obligation to follow any of the grand jury's recommendations, but it is required to file a formal response within 90 days.

Of 11 red-light camera safety-related recommendations, the proposed response states the city will not implement nine and that no action is required on the other two.

The proposed response also states that no action is required on four of five recommendations related to red-light camera accounting practices. Another related to the posting of red-light camera revenues and expenses online will not be implemented, the response says.