Cameras could start catching red light runners at more Denton intersections if city leaders get their way.

The city is working on an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation to install five cameras at three crossroads: University Drive at Mayhill Road, Univer­sity at Carroll Boulevard, and Fort Worth Drive at Interstate 35E.

DRC/Al Key

The intersection of Carroll Boulevard and University Drive is one of three spots that city leaders are working toward an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation to install five new red light cameras.

City leaders hope the cameras would reduce violations and accidents at the busy intersections.

“The numbers are pretty impressive in the reduction of violations that we’ve been able to see at the current camera locations,” police Lt. Scott Fletcher said. “That’s the whole point, to continue to apply this where it best fits.”

Denton installed six pole-mounted cameras at four intersections in 2006. Since then, violations at those locations have dropped by 68 percent, Fletcher said.

The proposed new cameras would be Denton’s first since the Texas Legislature passed regulations last year on their installation and use.

They would also be the first approved in Denton since the Texas attorney general ruled in June 2006 that the state could let cities install cameras on state-controlled roadways, such as University and Fort Worth drives.

The transportation department will review Denton’s request to make sure the intersections warrant cameras based on accident and violation history, among other conditions, said Melanie Young, transportation operations engineer with the department’s Dallas office.

Denton had eyed two additional camera locations: Loop 288 at Interstate 35E and University Drive at Interstate 35. But the city dropped them for now because of ongoing or planned construction on those roads, Fletcher said.

The remaining locations still represent some of the most dangerous intersections and commonly run red lights in Denton, Fletcher said. Cameras could start snapping at the locations within three to six months of the state’s approval, he said.

Denton resident Gloria Ayers said the accident history at University and Carroll shows cameras are clearly needed. The city reported 58 accidents at the intersection during the past two years.

“People need the fear of God in them,” Ayers said. “So I say put the fear of the camera up there and scare them to death.”

The cameras work around the clock to provide photographs and a short video of vehicles that run red lights. Denton pays a monthly fee to Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Redflex Traffic Systems to operate and maintain cameras at Mayhill and Spencer roads, Woodrow Lane and Shady Oaks Drive, Hickory Street and Bell Avenue, and Carroll Boulevard and Oak Street.

After Redflex and a Denton police officer confirm a violation, the registered owner of the vehicle receives a violation notice, which carries a $75 fee. The penalty is civil, so it doesn’t affect driving records or insurance rates.

Denton originally earmarked profits from red light camera fees to public safety improvements. Last year, the Legislature required cities to start sending half of those earnings to the state to benefit regional trauma centers.

Critics of red light camera systems call them an invasion of privacy or government moneymaking scheme. Others call the systems unfair because they assume the vehicle’s owner committed the violation, even though the images don’t show drivers’ faces.

Denton resident Robert Donnelly said he worries that the city’s increasing reliance on cameras to enforce traffic laws could hurt police officers in the long run.

“As they continue to expand the red light cameras, which they will, there’s less of a need for officers in that area,” Donnelly said. “It may not affect those on the force now, but it will restrict the need for new officers.

“When you have cameras doing a policeman’s job, you have cameras doing a policeman’s job.”

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com .

Denton would get five more red light cameras at three intersections under a pending agreement between the city and the Texas Department of Transportation. Here’s a list of those intersections, along with accident and violation data* provided by the Denton Police Department:

University Drive at Carroll Boulevard
(two cameras, facing east and west on University)
Accidents: 58 in past two years
Violations: 24 per 12 hours, for east- and westbound vehicles

University Drive at Mayhill Road
(two cameras, facing east and west on University)
Accidents: 15 in past two years
Violations: 23 per 12 hours, for east- and westbound vehicles

Fort Worth Driveat Interstate 35E
(one camera, facing south on Fort Worth)
Accidents: 55 in past two years
Violations: 21 per 12 hours, for southbound vehicles

*Violation data are based on a video analysis of each intersection that allows police to identify on average the number of violations per 12 hours.

SOURCE: Denton Police Department