In an effort to reduce collisions and make City streets safer, Menlo Park is expanding its red light photo enforcement program (http://menlopark.org/619/Red-light-photo-enforcement) on December 9, 2016. Cameras and violation sensors will monitor the intersection of Chilco Street and Bayfront Expressway (highway 84) in the westbound direction. The Menlo Park Police Department and the Transportation Department worked diligently with Cal Trans to obtain encroachment permits to install red light cameras at this intersection. This will be Menlo Park’s fourth intersection monitored by a red light camera. Red light running has been responsible for 28% of major injury collisions and 14% of fatality collisions in Menlo Park. The Office of Traffic Safety’s most recent report (2013) of collision rankings shows Menlo Park to be ranked 1st out of 92 cities for speed related injury collisions within our population group.
The program is seen by City officials as an important step to improve the safety and flow of local traffic. However, the City is giving drivers who live, work, or travel through Menlo Park a 30-day grace period before actual citations are issued.
The program uses an automated camera system which takes four photographs capturing the vehicle position in the intersection, the license plate, and the driver’s face. The camera system also records 12 seconds of constant, live streaming video of the violation, six seconds before and six seconds after the violation. The camera system only becomes active after the light has turned red. Vehicles crossing the limit line after the light has turned red are detected automatically and the camera system records the images. After a Menlo Park Police Department employee reviews the images and video, a citation is mailed out to the registered owner of the vehicle.
All violators captured during the first 30 days at the new location will receive a warning letter notifying them that their vehicle was captured violating the red light at this intersection. The 30-day grace period will end at midnight on January 7, 2017. Violators will begin to receive traffic citations in the mail for violations beginning January 8, 2017.
Menlo Park’s red light enforcement program will be administered by Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc., an Arizona-based provider of traffic safety photo enforcement with more than 20 years experience partnering with cities on public safety programs.
