11 Investigates: Pittsburgh red light camera program hits road block

PITTSBURGH — The plan to bring red light cameras to the city of Pittsburgh was ready to roll.

The city put out a request for proposals, but that’s where they ran into a slight problem. Only one company bid on the project.

Chief Investigator Rick Earle examined the red light camera program last November. On Tuesday, he spoke about the unlikely delay with Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, who has been instrumental in bringing the program to the city.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> 11 Investigates: Red light cameras coming to Pittsburgh

Earle: Was it surprising though to you?

Strassburger: A little.

Earle: You figured there would be more people interested in providing this service?

Strassburger: I did. Yes.

Strassburger, who along with the Mayor and other city officials held a news conference last summer to announce the program, was surprised to learn that only one company submitted a bid.

Strassburger: We didn’t receive the competitive bids we thought we might.

Earle: You got one, right?

Strassburger: Yes, so it’s my understanding.

Earle: And that wasn’t sufficient?

Strassburger: Whenever there is one vendor that bids we know that we can do better.

Strassburger and other city officials have touted the red light camera program as a tool to improve safety on city streets, where two pedestrians have been hit and killed since December.

And during a five-year period, according to city crash data, more than 700 accidents in the city of Pittsburgh were caused by red light runners.

“I think about my kid and so many other kids out there. It should be safe for them to walk down the street and go play,” said Strassburger, during an interview in her office last November.

In November, 11 Investigates showed you drivers running red lights downtown including some Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus drivers.

Earle spoke with Sarita Pearce who visits downtown and rides the bus. She said she’s seen bus drivers running red lights.

“I’m on the buses when they’re running the red lights,” said Pearce.

Drivers caught running a red light will get a $100 fine.

That money goes to pay for the program.

Funds left over then go into a PennDOT account that’s used for safety projects around the state.

Pittsburgh has already benefitted from some of that money generated from other municipalities in Pennsylvania using red light cameras.

Pittsburgh has allocated more than a $1 million to start the program, and Strassburger had hoped to have as many as five cameras up and running by this summer.

But, because of the apparent lack of interest, the program will likely be delayed.

The city is now preparing to issue a second request for proposals.

Strassburger told Earle she’s optimistic they’ll get more responses this time around, and she’s not worried about the program.

Earle: Are you concerned that this might not go if you only had one bid the first time around?

Strassburger: No, I’m very confident this will go.

Across the country, there have been mixed reviews about red light cameras.

Some cities swear by them and have expanded their use, while others have done away with them, claiming that they’ve led to an increase in other types of crashes like rear-end accidents.

Strassburger said she doesn’t know when the new request for proposals will go out.

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