Canandaigua to seek NY OK for red-light cameras

CANANDAIGUA— Could the City of Canandaigua someday use red-light cameras to curb motorists from running red lights in the more highly trafficked areas of the city?

Canandaigua Police Chief Mathew Nielsen and City Manager John Goodwin call it a “complex idea with many layers.”

City Council on Thursday night gave the OK for city officials to ask local state legislators for home-rule legislation that would enable the city to install and operate the devices, which take photos and videos of violators, leading to traffic tickets and fines.

State Sen. Pam Helming, R-Canandaigua, and Assemblyamn Jeff Gallahan, R-Manchester, are the city’s representatives.

A great deal of research needs to be completed before details and decisions are made about this project, but obtaining home-rule legislation is considered a key first step.

“We don’t know the exact cost of the cameras at this time because we haven’t gotten to that bridge yet,” Goodwin said. “Right now, we’re just trying to cross one bridge at a time and the first bridge is, in concept, do we like red-light cameras to make our community safer by having people stop instead of going through red lights?”

The state can grant the city authority to use the cameras although the city does not have to implement the program should the home-rule legislation get approval. The issue could be addressed by the end of the year, although Goodwin said a decision is more likely in 2025.

“This is a long process,” Goodwin said.

Nielsen said in an emailed statement that if this concept does come to fruition, it will be driven by traffic safety and not intended as a revenue source.

That point was reinforced by Councilmember Doug Merrill on Thursday night.

“This could save lives in the future and not just generate revenue,” Merrill said.

Traffic studies will highlight if the program can fund and sustain itself, as well as the most effective number of cameras and their locations.

Nielsen said Feb. 27 at City Council’s environmental and ordinance committee meeting that the focus would be on Main Street, including the northern, more residential end and the business district to the south, and Eastern Boulevard (Routes 5 and 20) where speeds are higher.

Nielsen said at the meeting that motorists are running red lights at a “high frequency.”

“This is a problem much larger than the city of Canandaigua and is also a national trend,” Nielsen said in the email, also noting that he was indifferent about if the cameras would help solve the problem at first. “After learning a bit about them, I feel confident that this would be a viable option to resolve this persistent problem.”

If approved, the cameras will capture license plate data for violators and a ticket with a civil fine would be sent to the owner of the vehicle.

Before that, however, bids will have to be sought from vendors and evaluated by city staff and councilmembers. Then studies will have to be done to answer many questions.

How many cameras would work best? Where should they be located? What’s the most cost-effective way to implement the program?

Should they be used at all?

“Those details all have to be worked out,” Goodwin said.