By Cecilia Chan
Independent Newsmedia

Glendale wants to put the brakes on having some of the most dangerous intersections in the Valley.
Police Chief Rick St. John got a nod from the City Council last week to implement red-light cameras. The city will first do a three-month study by outfitting photo cameras at 59th Avenue and Bell Road, considered one of Glendale’s problematic intersections.
“I think there is a need to change driving behavior in the West Valley,” Chief St. John said.
The study would be in conjunction with a traffic enforcement program the city launched two weeks ago at its 10 major intersections.
Glendale traditionally over the past decade is home to some of the top 10 dangerous intersections among the 100 ranked by the Maricopa Association of Governments.
In the 2017 MAG data, Glendale did better with just two intersections — 59th and Northern avenues and 59th and Olive avenues — among the top 10 most dangerous to travel through, according to the chief.
Speed and inattention are the culprits in red-light related accidents, he added.
The study calls for cameras at 59th and Northern, which had 21 accidents, mostly non-injury, for one month and two months without a camera for comparison data at no cost to the city.
The study is to collect data to see if cameras at intersections improve driving and not for issuing citations, the chief said.
Instead, the department is looking to put officers out of sight near the intersections and issue citations based on their personal observation and not the cameras, he said.
“We will use enforcement through traditional means to supplement the cameras,” he said.
Although 59th and Olive have the highest accidents at 34, construction on 59th Avenue would skew the data if cameras were to be placed at that intersection, according to the chief.
Mayor Jerry Weiers questioned if one month would be enough to collect usable data.
A second option proposed included cameras for three months but if the city did not keep the cameras after that time, the cost would be $14,000, according to the chief, who did not recommend this option. He believed the city could get enough information from the first option without running the risk of incurring the $14,000 expense.
Councilwoman Lauren Tolmachoff, who requested in December a study on red-light cameras as an item of special interest, asked for the results of Scottsdale’s three-year pilot program on red-light cameras.
Chief St. John said the East Valley city saw a significant drop, up to 30 percent of accidents at intersections.
Councilman Jamie Aldama said the 21 accidents cited for 59th and Northern suggest all were caused by red-light runners and he wanted to know how many actually resulted from drivers running a light.

The chief said he would have to look at the reports but noted red-light cameras do change driving behavior by making drivers pay more attention.
“A majority of accidents are due to inattention,” he said.
Councilman Aldama said when the city had a camera at 59th and Peoria avenues, he saw a change in driving behavior _ drivers in anticipation of the red light, braking suddenly and causing rear-end accidents at the intersections.
The mayor joined in by saying while he was on his motorcycle traveling south on 35th Avenue, a pick-up truck in front of him slammed on the brakes at an intersection with a camera, causing him to lay his bike down.
Acknowledging he was at fault, the mayor said he asked why the driver braked on a yellow light. The man told him, if he got one more ticket, he would lose his license, the mayor said.
No one in their right mind would think someone would slam the brakes on a yellow light, Mayor Weiers said, adding red-light cameras may have unintended consequences.
“I understand it might make people slow down but people also panic,” he said.
He said he was 100 percent for having more officers out on the streets instead.
Councilwoman Joyce Clark said she agreed with the mayor about having more officers doing traffic enforcement and cited a 2015 federal study that showed red-light cameras cut front and side collisions by 25 percent but increase rear-end collisions by 15 percent.
“So, you’re trading one bad outcome for another bad outcome,” she said.
She noted the number of communities in the country with red-light cameras also have dropped to 466 in 2015 from 545 in 2012.
Councilman Bart Turner said he agreed that cameras may change the nature of accidents that occur but comparing the dollar cost and casualty, it is lower for rear-end collisions than a T-bone or head-on accident.
Councilwoman Clark said if the city seriously wants to reduce accidents, it should consider a distracted driving ordinance instead.
Councilwoman Tolmachoff said she proposed a distracted driving ordinance last year and if the current traffic enforcement does not work, she will bring back the proposal.
“I feel a responsibility to our citizens to do whatever we can to make it safe for them, their children and grandchildren,” she said.
Mayor Weiers said officers now have the authority to pull someone over for weaving because of a distraction so there is no need for a new law but police just needs to make it a priority.
Vice Mayor Ian Hugh said he receives lots of complaints from residents about red-light runners.
“I want safe streets in the city of Glendale,” he said. “I will support anything that will reduce accidents.”
Mayor Weiers questioned why the department is doing a marketing campaign first, warning the public about the cameras and which intersections instead of just putting the cameras up and letting them do their job.
Chief St. John said it is all about being transparent and fair and despite letting people know about them beforehand, drivers still drive through red lights.
The chief said the department did a Thursday to Sunday traffic enforcement campaign and publicized it and still issued more than 40 tickets, 30 for speeding.
“Even as transparent as we are, people do not pay attention,” he said. “That’s why we have some of the most dangerous intersections in the Valley.”