[img]2441|right|John Nachbar||no_popup[/img]“Finalized and executed,” City Manager John Nachbar said this morning.
Months after the City Council nodded its approval, City Hall officially has signed and formally renewed its agreement with the legally troubled Redflex Traffic Systems that provides the community’s controversial red light cameras at intersections.
Often Mr. Nachbar’s opinions are softly muted since he is the executive face of the city.
Is he a fan of the red light cameras, over which fierce debate continues to rage?
Without hesitation, “I think the red light cameras are effective because, ultimately, they reduce the number of serious and potentially fatal accidents.”
Camera-supportive data in Culver City, however, ranges between scarce and invisible.
Mr. Nachbar said he does not believe “Culver City alone is a large enough sample” to prove that cameras make intersections safer.
“It is my thinking, based on what I know of red light cameras and traffic engineering, anything that can reduce the number of people running red lights…
“One of the most serious accidents that can occur,” said Mr. Nachbar, “is when someone runs a red light and broadsides another car without even hitting the brakes. People use the term T-bone. That is an extremely serious kind of accident.
“Any mechanism that helps to reduce the number of red lights that are run is worthwhile.
“I know there are arguments that they cause rear-end accidents. There may be merit to that.
“Even if it is the case,” said Mr. Nachbar, “this is just my personal opinion, that it is worth a tradeoff. Personally, I would exchange rear-end accidents for those T-bone accidents because they are potentially fatal.”
