Last month, a 4-3 vote against renewing red-light camera’s was cast.  Last week, the City Council of Tampa voted 6-1 to reverse the earlier vote and continue the red-light program for another two years.

Arguments for the vote reversal include raised driver awareness, crashes, and red-light violations. In two years of red light cameras, crash and tickets have dropped.

“Citizens are changing their ways,” said police Chief Jane Castor.

Members of the City Council that voted against the renewal wanted to focus on traffic and safety improvement. Mayor Bob Buckhorn promised to allocate one-fourth of traffic violation revenue to improvement.

Last year, the city accumulated $1.64 million in red light violations. Each violation cost $158, with $75 going to the state and $83 going to the city. However, red light enforcement is not only a way for the government to raise money without raising taxes.

“This was not designed as a money-making thing, but as a public safety event,” Brown said. “The citations have gone down every year since the program was instituted, which means driver behavior has changed.”

Since the introduction of the cameras in 2009, there have been no deaths in the six intersections that have devices. Tampa currently has 51 cameras on 21 intersections.

“This is not about money,” Commissioner Kevin Beckner said. “This is a cost-effective public safety tool we can use to save lives on our roads.”