They like them so far.
The city Transportation Department pronounces itself pleased with progress made by red-light cameras.
The number of accidents has decreased at the targeted intersections. The cameras have resulted in about $1.2 million in fines — $765,000 went for expenses (including payments to ATS, the contractor), $221,000 went to the state and $221,000 went to the city.
And, no, Transportation Director Bill Verkest told the City Council, the city hasn’t shortened the yellow light times in order to catch more drivers.
According to this story, the city says that accidents are down 19% at the targeted intersections, with rear-end collisions up slightly. I don’t know what their methodology is for making those assertions. I do know that the city of Houston is due for an updated report on its red light cameras and the collision rates at the monitored approaches this August. One hopes this study will be less confusing and more clear – conducting it in a non-flawed manner would be a start.