Brooksville OKs red-light traffic cameras

BROOKSVILLE -- Red-light traffic cameras received the green light from Brooksville officials Monday.

The Brooksville City Council voted 5-0 to approve a measure that would allow for red-light cameras to be installed at some of the city's busiest intersections. Brooksville will follow the lead of several other municipalities in the area, including Port Richey, which installed its first camera on March 19.

Motorists who run red lights would be photographed by the camera twice, as the vehicle approaches the light and then crossing the intersection. The cameras would also shoot a video, which would be available for the violator to view online.

A police officer will view the video and ultimately determine if the driver broke the law. If so, the driver would be sent a ticket, which would be a civil, not criminal, citation.

City officials will soon enter negotiations with American Traffic Solutions, a Scottsdale, Ariz., company, to determine which intersections could use the cameras; police Chief George Turner has already recommended five intersections to the city and company.

Greg Parks, regional vice president of ATS, said Monday it would be at least 90 days before the first camera was installed in the city.

Joel Anderson, Times staff writer