City looks into red-light cameras

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Albuquerque Mayor R.J. Berry has ordered an independent study of the city's red-light cameras to find out whether they make the roads safer.

The University of New Mexico will conduct the study.

The contract for the red-light cameras was originally set to expire on Monday, but the city has extended the deal for an extra four months while the study is conducted by UNM’s Institute for Social Research.

Albuquerque Chief Public Safety Officer Darren White said the study will also look at the number of crashes, citations and timing of yellow lights.

The Institute for Social Research plans to also examine intersections that don’t have red-light cameras.

The cost of the study and when it will be finished is still up in the air.

Once it's completed, Berry will decide whether to keep the red-light camera program as is, get rid of it or make changes to it.

“It’s about public safety, it’s not about revenue, or anything else that may be associated to these cameras,” White said. “Are the tickets too much? Are the tickets too little? The question is public safety.”

If the program is kept, White said the city will take a closer look at how the tickets are given to see if the process is as fair and accurate as it needs to be.

There are currently 20 intersections in Albuquerque that have red-light cameras.