Red light cameras 'not functioning', City of Regina report says

The City of Regina says its red light camera system is broken, so it's looking at replacing it with better technology.

Since 1999, the city has been using the cameras to catch people who run red lights. Photos of licence plates are used to ticket the registered owners of the vehicles. 

However, two of the four cameras are "not functioning", according to a report going to city council later this month.

"The two other cameras are in disrepair and are only capturing approximately 50 per cent of red light violations," the report says.

The report, from the Regina Red Light Camera Committee, recommends scrapping the analog cameras and replacing them with the latest digital technology.

Digital cameras would be pricier to operate — about $39,000 per camera per year compared to about $15,000 currently — but the images would be clearer and as a result there would be more convictions, the report says.

Council is expected to vote on the new cameras at its next meeting on Aug. 25.

Last year, 2,326 red light camera tickets were sent out, each for $230, for a total of $534,980.

The city says the cameras have resulted in a sharp reduction in the number of crashes in which cars are broadsided.

There's some evidence that more cars were rear-ended — at least in the short term — after the cameras were installed, but the overall result is still fewer accidents and fewer injuries.

Two of the cameras are at the corner of Albert Street and Saskatchewan Drive. A third is at the corner of Albert and Parliament Avenue, while the fourth is at Lewvan Drive and Dewdney Avenue.