Red-Light Camera Information Posted on Arnold City Website

City Hall posted information about the red-light camera system operating at four intersections in Arnold.

The Arnold Police Department provided the document, Police Chief Shockey said during a City Council meeting in Feb. 17.  Shockey did not provide the author of the document.

According to the document, the Arnold Police Department reviews the photos and makes the final decision to issue a ticket, the document said. Tickets are $94.50 and are sent to the vehicle owner.

If the car’s owner was not driving the car during the violation, the owner can sign a document identifying the driver during the photographed violation, the document stated. 

A red-light camera violation occurs when a car enters an intersection after the signal has turned red, the city document stated. 

The cameras must provide photos that show a car entered the intersection after the light turned red, the document said. No tickets are issued for vehicles entering the intersection on a yellow or green light.

Motorists already in the intersection prior to the red light are not considered violators, the document said. Cars inside the intersection waiting to make a left turn, for example, would not be red-light violators or receive a ticket.

The systems are located at the intersections of

• Jeffco Boulevard and the Rockport school entrance
• Vogel Road and Richardson Road
• Jeffco Boulevard and Route 141
• Route 141 and Astra Way

The system’s purpose is to change driver behavior, increase road safety and reduce light violations, the document said.

The system records motion near the stop line by using a motion sensor, cameras and a strobe light. Stop lines are painted on the ground, border an intersection and mark the place where cars should stop prior to entering an intersection.

The cameras activate when sensors detect motion around the stop line and after the light has turned red, the document said.

The system takes two photos, one of the car prior to entering the intersection with a red light and a second photo of the car in the intersection during the red light.

Cars approaching the stop line may cause the cameras and strobe light to discharge, the document said. Cars that slow down, instead of stopping prior to a right turn, may also trigger the cameras and strobe lights, the document said.

About 2 million car wrecks occur at intersections yearly, the document said while citing an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report. In 2009, red-light violators cause 676 deaths and 113,000 injuries.

A public forum on the systems will be at City Hall, 2101 Jeffco Boulevard, at 6 p.m. on March 8.