Red Light Camera Tickets Start Tuesday in Falls Church City
No more warnings will be given after Jan. 18.
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The bright, white flash you see in your rearview mirror after rushing through an intersection in the City of Falls Church, will come with a $50 fine come Jan. 18.
That’s when the city will begin issuing tickets to motorists who get caught by a red-light camera as they go through a red light. City spokeswoman Barbara Gordon said between Dec. 30 and Jan. 18, motorists caught running red lights will receive warnings. From there on out, motorists will receive fines in the mail.
“All of the money from the red light camera tickets will go to the city’s general fund,” Gordon said in Friday during a telephone interview.
The red light cameras will not be installed in every intersection around the city. Cameras have been installed in the intersections of West Broad and Cherry streets and West Broad Street and Annandale Road, Gordon said. Those two intersections have been identified by the city as areas where people commonly run red lights.
Chris Boyle, 24, of Merrifield, said the bright flash scared him about two weeks ago as he rushed through the intersection of West Broad Street and Annandale Road. The light turned red before he got through the intersection and the cameras were activated. He said he was rushing to meet up with some friends and was already minutes late. He said he won’t rush through intersections now because there will be fines attached.
“It freaked me out when it happened,” Boyles said Friday afternoon outside a coffee shop near the West Broad Street and Annandale Road intersection. It’s not worth getting a ticket or causing a serious accident.”
A. Ron.
12:16 pm on Sunday, January 16, 2011
I wish the red light cameras were on the Virginia Ave and Broad St. intersection. More than half the time I am at that intersection (I live on S. Virginia) there is a red light runner. People on their phones see the green light at Annadale and run right through.
Doug Tallman
11:08 am on Tuesday, January 18, 2011
That's a good point, A. Ron. Where else *should* the cameras go? I get the sense that the cameras in Montgomery County, Md., weren't placed to enhance safety. They don't seem to be at the big intersections where a T-bone wreck could really hurt someone.
Katherine McGuire
8:03 am on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The camera at Cherry St and West Broad appears to be set to flash when the cars tires roll over the white intersection line. Can it be the case that while the driver stops and doesn't go through a red light at the intersection, the driver will still be ticketed for going inches over the white intersection line painted on the asphalt?
Inquiring minds wants to know!!! Lots of flashes being observed yet not seeing the cars going through red lights every time.
K. McGuire
Jeff Pollack
11:47 am on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
I noticed that it used to flash when I was making a left off of Cherry onto Broad. But, they seemed to have fixed that because I haven't noticed it recently. Maybe they tweaked something that will address your issue as well.
GBaker
12:19 pm on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Another location where a red light camera would increase safety (and city revenues) is W. Broad St. and Lee St. (Burger King, Point of View Eyeware, Huang's, Suntrust). This light was installed 2-3 years ago, at a relatively minor intersection, and it appears to be invisible to many drivers. As a frequent pedestrian at the corner, I notice 1-2 red light runners on almost every light change. It is particularly dangerous for pedestrians because there are no "walk/don't walk" lights on Lee St., only on Broad, and I see pedestrians routinely walk across Lee against the light, oblivious that it's changed.
Mary C. Stachyra
6:19 pm on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
It feels like every time I drive through Falls Church, I wind up behind cars that stop as soon as the light turns yellow, or slam on the brakes to avoid going through a red light and getting a ticket. I read a few months ago about one study that said statistically, stoplight cameras don't actually make motorists any safer, for that very reason. It would be interesting to read more on the issue.