After a five year hiatus, Arlington is bringing back red light cameras at four busy county intersections.
Arlington’s previous generation of red light cameras went dark in 2005 after the Virginia General Assembly banned them statewide. The cameras were reauthorized in 2007 but stayed dormant in Arlington.
Now, the county is installing a new generation of cameras with the vaguely Bono-inspired name of ‘PhotoRED.’
The cameras will monitor eastbound Lee Highway at North Lynn Street, westbound Lee Highway at Washington Boulevard, northbound North Glebe Road at Fairfax Drive, and southbound Ft. Myer Drive at westbound Lee Highway.
The PhotoRED cameras are expected to come online on Monday, June 14. They will issue warnings for the first 30 days, police said. After that, drivers who run red lights or violate Virginia’s right turn on red law will receive this notice of violation and a $50 civil fine (like a parking ticket, it will not go on the driver’s record).
The system will cost the police department $14,900 per month, although the county will keep a portion of the fines collected. (Updated at 3:55 p.m.)
The county says that red light photo enforcement can reduce crashes at monitored intersections by roughly 40 percent.
Diagram courtesy of Arlington County Police Department.