The camera watching eastbound traffic on Queen Avenue at Elm Street, on July 23, 2025.
Heads up, Albany drivers: The third and fourth sets of automated traffic cameras now are active and ready to record anyone running a red light or driving too fast.
The cameras are on Queen Avenue at Elm Street and on Santiam Road at Geary Street.
The other two camera sets, operating since last fall and earlier this year, are on North Albany Road and on two approaches to the intersection of Queen and Geary.
Albany contracted with Verra Mobility, based in Mesa, Ariz., to install and operate the cameras at four locations. The company records and processes violations, but the Albany police review each instance before authorizing a traffic ticket to be issued.
Police Chief Marcia Harnden said Verra Mobility notified her department today that the latest cameras had begun operating. For 30 days starting today, drivers caught for violations will get warning letters but no tickets.
Tickets will start being issued once the one-month grace period on those intersections is over.
I drive this route daily, and the violators aren’t at this intersection. Many days during my commute I see folks run the red at Pacific and Geary, as well as SE 9th and Geary. I might appreciate cameras there, but like the new cameras in N. Albany, this is all automated taxation.
What is the rule in Oregon about crossing an intersection on “yellow?”
You must be exiting the intersection. Kind of hard to do sometimes since some of the lights around here are really wonky. Turn lane from 14th onto Waverly NB will go green for 1 car and be red before the car gets through the intersection.
These cameras are not about safety otherwise they would be at the intersections with high crash rates. These are simply about raising revenue and if you believe otherwise you are naive.
I googled it and the state law says you are supposed to stop, but you can continue through if, in your judgment, you can’t stop before you enter the intersection. Pretty nebulous so probably win court if you get a ticket. With the gap between the red light coming on in your lane and the green light coming on in the other lane virtually no accidents if you enter on yellow.
Of all the stupid places Albany has put in traffic lights and they STILL have not put one at Knox Butte/Century.
My recollection is that there was originally to be cameras in the vicinity of Lyons and First. Perhaps my recollection is wrong or the plans changed.
There was no plan to put cameras on state highways, so Lyon was not in the picture.
Has there been an examination of the data that warrants the placement of these cameras? Is that data public? Where can we see it?