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Boynton Beach cameras to go dark in one month

Posted at 12:25 AM, Dec 02, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-02 00:26:07-05

Boynton Beach red light cameras will go dark in one month. 

In September, commissioners voted to turn off the cameras in a controversial decision, but as the city prepares to shut them down, is it a safety concern?

We see it time after time on the Boynton Beach Police Departments Facebook page. Close calls of drivers running red lights.

However Larry Thomas is happy to see them gone.

"Really just unnecessary."

In a 3-2 vote, city commission opted to shut them down, citing hefty fines and whether the money spent on the cameras would be better off for police positions.

Mayor Steven Grant voted in favor of keeping the cameras. He says they do more good than harm.

"The whole point of me continuing to keep the red light cameras was that if someone did pass away or was killed form a red light runner it would be on," says Grant.

Boynton Beach police say for the five years the cameras have been operational, there's been only one traffic fatality at intersections with cameras.

However some drivers like Thomas say there's got to be a good reason to get rid of them.

"I think they can just do without them and do something constructive with the money."