Red Light Cameras Under Fire In Las Cruces

They’ve been up for years now, snapping photos of red light runners in Las Cruces.

But traffic engineers have said there’s nothing to show they’re actually reducing violations.

At Monday’s Las Cruces City Council meeting, engineers asked for more time and data from before the cameras went up to find conclusive results.

Las Cruces City Councilor Dolores Connors said the lack of evidence makes her believe the cameras are being misused.

“Red light cameras have not decreased the number of abusers,” Connors said. “It just creates revenue for the city, and if that’s our reason for doing it, then we should say that’s our reason for doing it.”

For the last six months, data has been analyzed from several intersection throughout Las Cruces where red light cameras have been operating. There are a few very telling statistics that came out of the study.

For one, an increase of rear-end crashes was seen at one intersection, and the behavior of drivers running red lights and speeding didn’t change much according to some of the data shared at a special meeting on Monday.

Despite those conclusions, Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima said he thinks the cameras should not only stay but be used in school zones at Las Cruces high schools.

“What I was going to propose to the city council is that whatever money is generated go back to the schools…to help with general funding,” Miyagishima said.

Those who want to keep the cameras have suggested beefing up the entire campaign. They want to put them in school zones and strategically placed vehicles around town. All proposals that will go before council at a later date.