These are the cameras watching westbound traffic on Queen Avenue at Geary Street. (Photo taken Feb. 2, 2025.)
At least a few drivers making right turns on red at Queen Avenue and Geary Street in Albany seem to have trouble coming to a stop before they start the turn.
That’s the conclusion suggested by the data from the new red-light photo enforcement cameras that stated operating on Nov. 15.
The city has had red-light cameras at the intersection since 2007. The old cameras were replaced last fall with new ones that watch for red-light as well as speed violations. The cameras watch southbound traffic approaching the intersection on Geary Street and westbound traffic on Queen.
I was wondering about the results of the new setup. On Wednesday Police Chief Marcia Harnden sent me data covering the period from Nov. 15, 2024, through Tuesday, Feb. 4.
All together during the period, they registered 69 speed violations and 141 instances of drivers going through a red light. As a result, the police issued 36 tickets for speeding and 44 for red-light violations.
And here’s what prompts the conclusion in the lead of this story: Of the 44 red-light citations, 39 were for right turns in which, evidently, the drivers omitted the required stop before making the otherwise legal right turn on red.
What about the difference between the number of violations detected by the cameras and the number of citations issued as a result?
Chief Harnden explained: “The discrepancy between events and (citations) issued has to do with data transfer issues from the Verra Mobility to APD to our Records Management System to the Court. We dismissed and/or rejected some tickets due to this issue. It is all fixed now and working as it should.”
Verra Mobility is the contractor that installed and is operating the cameras.
It was in December 2023 that the Albany City Council decided to upgrade the Queen/Geary cameras and also install photo radar to check for red-light running and speeding at three other intersections.
The next set of cameras is planned for North Albany Road at West Thornton Lake Drive. That project, Harnden said, is awaiting a city permit for the electrical work. (hh)
I wonder how many traffic tickets were issued by Albany human police during the same period?
do they even practice that anymore? I can’t recall the last time I’ve seen the police have someone pulled over for speeding or running a red light.
good question
Inasmuch as these camera-systems are designed to help free-up “human police” to do more important things, I hope none -in direct answer to your question…
Which would mean a totally ineffective police force hired under your watch, because it’s pretty obvious to non blind people there are plenty of infractions happening.
Have it your way Bill. I didn’t hire a single one of them, but am damn glad we have the ones we do and seriously happy they will be doing more important work by having that task automated albeit in too limited locations.
You really have no evidence they are doing much of anything. I do have to admit I saw 4 cars that pulled over 1 motorist the other day.
What do the Albany police do? Well, for one thing the department reported that officers investigated a scam and prevented an Albany resident from losing tens of tens of thousands of dollars. Then on Tuesday, they arrested two Chinese nationals in the case. On Thursday the police reported that both suspects were in custody at the Linn County Jail.
Vehicles turning right from Geary on to Queen should not have to stop while the green arrow is allowing vehicles turning left from Queen on to Geary. Logically there should be a green arrow for these right turners. I noted this to the court after receiving a citation. My case was dismissed.
If you and I commit the same infraction at the same location and you receive a citation and I don’t, does that align with equal protection under the law? Also, as someone who reported on the red-light cameras for the D-H back in their early days, and has seen video of no-complete-stop-before-turning-right infractions, those drivers did not appear to be doing anything unsafe.
Nope! It doesn’t matter what somebody else was doing. You’re the one they caught. Why would that make YOU innocent?
Anybody know if the cameras are turned on for eastbound traffic on Queen Street just past the Calapooia River Bridge ?
There are no cameras there. Eventually, the plan is to put cameras at Queen and Elm, but the timing is uncertain.
Hasso deduces: “…the drivers omitted the required stop before making the otherwise legal right turn on red.”
Words are important as any journalist or prior journalist know. How are we supposed to interpret the phrase, “otherwise legal turn…”.
The turn is only legal if the driver stops completely before turning. Anything less than what the statute says cannot be described as “otherwise legal.” To use that term is the kind of garbled word salad we hear each and every day from the Dunes of DOGE in Washington.
Has anyone checked to see how many “human beings” are assigned to traffic law enforcement? Would you be surprised to learn there is ONE for a population of somewhere around 60,000! That person doesn’t work 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
According to the APD section of the City Web Site there are 8 officers, 1 Sgt. and one Lt. assigned to patrol for each shift. According to APD Policy 220 (it is available on line) these officers are assigned a number of responsibilities, non of those responsibilities include traffic enforcement! Why not?
As to the comment above about 4 officers at one traffic stop – I have personally seen 6 vehicles (4 patrol cars and 2 pickups) arrive at an accident. The pickups arrived from different directions with a short span of time between arrivals. ALL 4 of the patrol vehicles arrived from the same direction almost as if they were tied together. Their arrival in this manner led me to believe that they all departed the same location at the same time.