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red light camera program costs

How much do red-light camera programs cost? This is the million-dollar question. Are these programs tax grabs and privacy invasions, or are they cost effective and do they stop big-city fatalities? Of course camera equipment costs vary depending on the complexity of the intersection, and the technical requirements, but estimates are of around $100,000 for the camera and the installation costs. A single red-light camera can be used at several locations once the sites are equipped to work with the camera, so that governments can rotate the cameras from location to location, all the while keeping drivers on their toes. You never know if the camera is armed at any given intersection. Costs of installation and procurement are offset by fines, savings from prevented collisions and by the freeing of police resources. The city of Ottawa spent $1.46 million CAD for their pilot project of only two cameras, rotating through 8 locations. The city of Toronto spent over $7 million CAD for their pilot project. In the Hamilton, Ontario region, the city estimates that the cost to society of red light running collisions in the region has been approximately $40 million over the past five years. So who benefits? Well, if we ignore any societal benefits, we can clearly say that Lockheed Martin is benefitting.
The system supplier was Lockheed Martin IMS Canada. The camera is an industrial 35-mm camera, manufactured particularly for unattended operation in an outdoor environment. The cameras are housed in a metre x metre x metre enclosure and are mounted on a pole, 20 metres in advance of the intersection. They are mounted approximately 3.6 metres above the ground. (City of Hamilton on Red Light Cameras)
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