Letter: What’s up with the cameras on Route 70?
Letter to the editor
I would like to second the opinion of John O’Reardon, as stated in a recent issue of your newspaper. I, too, received an $85 ticket for not coming to a complete stop at the red light while travelling east on Route 70 at Springdale Road. I was making a right turn on to Springdale as the northbound traffic on Springdale was making a left on to Route 70 westbound. Since there was no possibility of opposing traffic, I paused briefly at the light and made a right turn on Springdale. The video clearly showed that I had not come to a complete stop, and I was issued a violation for this.
I had hoped that the purpose of the camera was to deter speeders on Route 70 from running the red light and causing high-speed accidents at the Springdale Road intersection.
Instead, it seems drivers who present no danger whatsoever are being penalized for obeying the spirit and intent, rather than the letter, of the law.
I live near this intersection, and whenever I am waiting there now, I count the number of cars in violation of the complete stop law. By my estimate, the township could (and perhaps does) issue hundreds of $85 tickets each day for these harmless infractions.
It seems the installation of the red-light camera was more a matter of revenue enhancement than of public safety, and most of the financial burden is being borne by citizens who reside in the vicinity.
Mark Pinzur
