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Front Page » Communities » Miami-Dade moving into red light camera realm

Miami-Dade moving into red light camera realm

Written by on October 9, 2013
  • www.miamitodayepaper.com
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Miami-Dade County published a draft online last week of what will later be a formal solicitation for vendors who would install red light cameras and manage the county’s system.

“We post the project on our website for vendors and members of the industry to look at and give us feedback,” said Miriam Singer, assistant director of procurement management services in the county’s Internal Services Department.

The draft, called Red Light Camera Program, is to be online for two weeks, which started last Thursday, and during that period the county can make sure that any technology or legal requests or details are precise.

“We want to make sure that anything we issue is in compliance with the law,” Ms. Singer said.

Vendors may provide feedback to the county during the two-week posting period and anyone can access the solicitation through the Miamidade.gov website.

As of the current draft, the county states the cameras are to be placed at arterial intersections designated by the county where data has shown a high level of violations and/or a frequency of right-angle collisions likely to have been caused by running of red traffic signals.

The vendor would be responsible for furnishing all equipment, materials, personnel, management, office space, hardware, software and system power, among other requirements.

According to the draft, before the implementation of the program a 60-day public education and awareness period will take place, during which the vendor will work with the county to educate the public and drivers on requirements of the program.

During that time, only warnings will be mailed to drivers who commit red-light infractions. After that period, a notice of violation will be sent to drivers and they will be subject to a fine, which in Florida is $158 for a red-light violation.

Payments methods will include, the draft states, payment by check, Internet based through the use of bank accounts and credit cards, Paypal or similar methods may be allowed, and payment by phone using a credit or debit card.

“The county would prefer that this service be available 24 hours a day and seven days a week. However, this service shall be available a minimum of five days per week, and a minimum of ten hours per day, including hours after 6 p.m. to allow for payments to be made after normal business hours,” the draft states.

The program is to generate revenue to the county, and the selected proposer is required to collect and send to the county fines generated from violations.

The county states it will only accept responses that guarantee it will not be charged for cameras when revenue generated by a camera is less than the company’s cost for that camera. Proposals that don’t meet this criterion will be considered nonresponsive, the draft says.

If revenue falls short of the cost of the fees, the draft says, the company is to absorb the difference in cost and the county won’t pay any fees that exceed revenue generated by the red light program.

The current Red Light Camera Program is subject to change, but if it doesn’t change, the formal request is to go to vendors by the end of next week.

Ms. Singer said usually three weeks are given to the formal solicitation period.

Miami Today previously reported that commissioners approved red light cameras in the county in July 2010 and on second reading in January 2011, but state laws changed after the county drafted a request for proposals for cameras and an updated request based on new market data was needed.

The draft can be found at https://www.miamidade.gov/DPMww/FutureSolicitations.aspx.

One Response to Miami-Dade moving into red light camera realm

  1. Paul Henry

    October 10, 2013 at 3:32 am

    “collisions likely to have been caused by running of red traffic signals”

    Likely? How difficult is it to use the taxpayer-funded police reports to determine ACTUAL red light violation (RLV) crashes? Or will the State of Dade follow in the footsteps of places like Manatee County and place a device at an intersection where there have been only half as many crashes, but higher volume? Higher volume=more “violations”, and more “violations”= more money.

    “The program is to generate revenue to the county”

    Well there is an honest statement.

    The camera scheme was placed into law in July 2010. That year, there were 53 fatal RLV crashes in Florida. The following year, there were 72. The camera scheme is neither for safety nor a “lifesaving” program. As noted above, it is to generate revenue to the county. The county can further make money via the kangaroo court law that allows it to pick who hears the cases, hire people with no legal training, and that cannot use formal rules of evidence when deciding cases.

    Speaking of money, the state claimed $81 million in non-dismissed tickets for fiscal year 2012. Yet the Department of Revenue only reported receiving $51 million for that fiscal year. Where is the $30 million? Or perhaps corrupt local officials inflated their ticket numbers to make the camera scheme look better.

    Citizens must vote OUT of office any local or state official that supports the camera scheme.

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