The red light cameras have been switched off in St. Petersburg.



But they may not permanently be a thing of the past.



As voted on by the City Council in March, the controversial red light program went offline overnight.



Some council members say they were hesitant about installing the electronic eyes to begin with. Last year's election changed the face of the council and gave those hesitant members a majority vote to end the program at all 10 intersections where the cameras were - at least for now.



"We've got a lot of concerned citizens that were unjustly cited," said Councilman Wengay Newton. "And the course they gave them to argue the ticket, it was just like a kangaroo court."



The three-year-old program was sold to the city with the idea that it would make intersections safer, prevent crashes and make drivers think twice about accelerating through intersections. Newton, however, said the program was more about making money.



Instead of the cameras, Newton wants to expand the city's motorcycle patrol to keep an eye on troubled intersections. St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, a proponent of the cameras, has said he wants to continue to monitor the 10 camera intersections.



Red light cameras remain in use in cities across the Bay area, including Tampa and five municipalities in Pinellas County.



The cameras were located at these intersections: