Red-light cameras are coming back to Boynton Beach.
Vice Mayor, Justin Katz, tells us the city commissioners voted 3-2 to resend the cancelation of the contract. Now, the red-light contract will be reinstated.
It's the on again-off again relationship that drives many Boynton Beach residents crazy.
Less than a year after the city officially ended its red light camera program, the city commission could once again give it the green light.
Commissioner Mark McCray, a longtime opponent of the cameras who voted to end the program last year, is making an about face and asking the commission to bring them back.
He sai that he's seen too many speeders since they were turned off and his motivations are all about safety.
Some local drivers weren’t as convinced.
“If Boynton Beach thinks they're gonna put them back up, they gotta fight for this one,” says resident Patty Hartman. “I don't think it makes a difference. If someone's gonna run a red light, guess what? They're gonna run a red light."
Other residents agreed.
“It's not going to change anything, other than make the city more money,” driver David Owen says.
Mayor Steven Grant says the cameras do have their benefits.
“I’m OK with having automated policing using technology where it has to be reviewed by an officer,” he says.
Boynton Beach police also tout the effectiveness of the cameras.
Their numbers show that between 2014 and 2016, crashes at red light camera intersections decreased by more than 50%.
But a 2016 state report from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles studied dozens of red light camera intersections across Florida and found an increase in crashes.
It’s something drivers say they've seen firsthand.
“People slam on their brakes soon as the light turns yellow and people behind them aren't expecting it,” Owen says
The city will also consider automated license plate readers in addition to the red light cameras at Tuesday’s commission meeting.
