Red-light runners in London are catching a break — and not just because the cameras to catch them red-handed are arriving late.

In a twist that might surprise some drivers, it turns out the locations of the cameras won’t be kept a secret.

Instead, the 10 cameras will be installed at fixed locations publicized ahead of time, rather than be rotated around the city to different locations to catch errant drivers off-guard.

London won’t be waiting long for its overdue red light cameras.

Those plans are raising questions with Coun. Virginia Ridley, who advocated installing the red-light cameras as an effective traffic safety measure.

Ridley said she was under the impression the cameras would be moved among intersections around the city.

Now, she says she will be looking for an explanation from city staff.

“The ten rotating locations made sense to me, so people wouldn’t know where they are and that would encourage them to always obey the law,” she said Tuesday.

Ridley said she was expecting the cameras to be installed this month and also would be looking for an explanation of the delay.

The 10 cameras were to be installed at major intersections this month, a $3.8-million plan approved almost unanimously by city council more than a year ago.

But that’s now been put off until about April, said Shane Maguire, the city’s manager of roadway lighting and traffic control.

Winter weather and high demand for the cameras delayed their installation in London, said Maguire.

Seven Ontario municipalities, including Toronto, Kitchener, Hamilton and Ottawa, are using red-light cameras. Toronto plans to double its number of the machines to 153 after 77 traffic deaths last year, the highest toll in more than a decade.

None of the seven municipalities deploys cameras on a rotating basis between different locations, Maguire said.

Just like speed-enforcing photo radar, red-light cameras zero in on the licence plate of the offending vehicle, with a ticket — $325 for running a red light — mailed to the registered owner.

He said moving cameras around is an outdated concept and wasn’t part of the plan presented to council.

The cameras were once expensive to buy, so it made sense to move them around, he noted. But he said the technology is now cheaper and the cameras are leased rather than bought. Keeping them in fixed positions also cuts down on labour costs.

Besides, there’s no possibility of surprising drivers with the cameras because Ontario law requires signage at intersections to warn drivers, he said.

London’s red-light cameras will be leased from Traffipax, a contractor which now provides the service to the other southern Ontario cities.

Maguire said the images from London’s cameras will be processed by a centre run by the City of Toronto.

London is working to finalize its 10 camera locations based on a number of factors, he said.

“We looked at the history of right-angle collisions, those that were preventable and other factors. Some locations did not lend themselves to red-light enforcement for technical reasons,” he said.

He said the location of the red-light cameras will be announced as part of a driver education program that will be rolled out before the cameras are installed by the contractor.

“We will be notifying the public where the red-light cameras are, along with a campaign to get people to stop running red lights,” he said.

City officials had once considered rotating the 10 camera units to various intersections, but Maguire said that plan was dropped and the 10 locations will be fixed.

He said the rationale for red-light cameras is improving safety, not generating revenue for the city.

London’s red-light camera program is scheduled to run over five years and is expected to pull in about $4.5 million in ticket revenue.

City staff said any profits would go into a savings account for “future road safety initiatives.”

hdaniszewski@postmedia.com

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