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From http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2005/0417/local/stories/15local.htm

Citizen requests spark return of red-light camera
By JACK MORAN
Mail Tribune

A camera system designed to nab red-light runners at a busy Medford intersection should be operational before the end of April, police said.

Citizen complaints of red-light violations at the intersection of Biddle and McAndrews roads have prompted installation of the new photo-enforcement equipment, Medford Police Chief Eric Mellgren said.

"We’ve been getting tons of input from community members saying they want the camera back," Mellgren said.

A work crew on Monday will install underground wiring for the new system on Biddle Road just south of McAndrews. At least one lane of Biddle will be closed from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. Motorists should expect delays and are advised to seek alternate routes.

A red-light camera monitored the intersection during 2002 and 2003. Police said traffic violations there decreased dramatically after the system’s installation. The previous equipment also was used at the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Barnett Road.

The city’s photo-enforcement program was temporarily halted last year when the company that owned the monitoring equipment went bankrupt. A new vendor was secured a few months later, and photo enforcement was instituted in September at the intersection of Barnett Road and Stewart Avenue.

Under its contract with Redflex Traffic Systems, the city could choose to set up red-light monitoring equipment at six additional intersections. Mellgren said police expect the next camera will be installed at Delta Waters Road and Highway 62, where numerous crashes and red-light violations have been reported.

"We try to pick spots where there are accidents and complaints," Mellgren said.

Police have not yet identified additional intersections where monitoring equipment may be installed in the future.

Mellgren said after the camera is set up at Biddle and McAndrews, it will operate for a "short period of time" before citations are mailed to red-light runners. The time is needed to ensure the equipment is working correctly, he said.

When the previous camera system was installed in May 2002, police said about 25 red-light violations per day were occurring at each of the monitored intersections. Just four months later, the number of violations had dropped to three or four each day.

Speed detection vans make up the other prong of the city’s photo-enforcement program. Radar-equipped vans returned to the streets in July and are now in regular use at various Medford locations.

Portland and Beaverton are the only other Oregon cities using photo-enforcement equipment.