Oakland: Red-light cameras brought to abrupt halt

The red-light camera at 27th Street and Northgate Avenue next to an Interstate 980 on-ramp was among the Bay Area's top ticket producers. The red-light camera at 27th Street and Northgate Avenue next to an Interstate 980 on-ramp was among the Bay Area's top ticket producers. Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Oakland: Red-light cameras brought to abrupt halt 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The mystery over that weekend crash involving Oakland Mayor Jean Quan - Did she run a red light? Was she on her cell phone? - might have been cleared right up if there were a red-light camera at the intersection.

But there wasn't - in fact, there isn't a functioning red-light camera anywhere in the city.

It turns out that Oakland's contract with its camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems, expired May 20. The city didn't renew it, in part, because it was a money-loser.

Police Chief Sean Whent recommended that the City Council let the contract lapse, and that's apparently as far as it went. It never came before the council, something that angered Councilwoman Libby Schaaf.

She said she's no fan of the "gotcha" cameras, but that the decision about whether to keep them should have been debated publicly.

"I have personally made repeated requests to the department for information to bring forward, and the department has stalled and stalled and stalled," Schaaf said.

Assistant Police Chief Paul Figueroa insists the department hasn't been foot-dragging - but "can't accurately say exactly how much money the program is bringing in."

"We want to move forward to the council with all the information in an accurate way, and there are still unresolved questions," he said.

Oakland launched its red-light camera program in 2008, and until last month had cameras running at 11 intersections. Some have been among the Bay Area's top ticket producers, most notably the one at the on-ramp to Interstate 980 at 27th Street and Northgate Avenue.

The cameras didn't just generate tickets, however - they may have made the intersections safer. According to an outside traffic study that the city commissioned, crashes "dropped from 7.2 collisions per year per intersection to 3.2 collisions per year at intersections with red-light cameras."

The financial side, however, hasn't been as fruitful. Councilman Noel Gallo, chairman of the council's Public Safety Committee, says Oakland made just $280,000 in a recent one-year period after the state, Alameda County and Redflex took their cuts of ticket money, not enough to cover expenses.

Redflex disputes that, however, saying the city's total was more like $1.1 million. Who's right isn't clear, and the Police Department is doing an audit to find out.

One thing is clear, however: Redflex's cameras in the city are out of business.

When minutes matter: Police arrived in a minute and a half and a fire truck was there in 2 1/2 minutes, but it took a Fire Department ambulance 13 minutes to arrive at Fisherman's Wharf after the 911 call came in about the accident Friday that claimed the life of 2-year-old Kayson Shelton.

According to a source familiar with the incident, the initial call from Kayson's father was calm after a dolphin statue outside a Jefferson Street art gallery fell on the boy as he was climbing on it. He said Kayson had a nose bleed and had lost consciousness.

The only ambulance available at the time was across town at Oak and Stanyan streets. All the other 15 ambulances on city streets were already on runs.

The Fire Department's goal is to have an ambulance on scene within 10 minutes, said department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge. Friday's circumstances were "unfortunate," she said.

And a bit scary as well.

Pole polling: After stinging reviews from wheelchair users and the blind, BART's $2.5 billion "fleet of the future" and the grip poles aboard the new train cars are about to undergo a redesign.

The three-pronged poles are intended to give standing passengers something to hang on to, and at the same time make room for more wheelchairs and bikes.

Disabled rights activists, however, say the poles are a barrier that violates federal regulations.

BART staff is recommending two changes: Limit the number of poles in some cars, and move the poles away from the doors.

What does that leave for standing riders who aren't near the poles? BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost says the agency is looking at adding more hanging hand grips.

But Bryan Bashin, CEO of Lighthouse for the Blind, says BART should get rid of the poles altogether.

"If it's a bad idea on some cars, it should be a bad idea on the entire train," Bashin said.

Look for a decision from the BART board Thursday, at what's sure to be a hot meeting.