By Mike Russo
If passed by the state Legislature, Fuschillo’s bill would authorize the installation of cameras on traffic lights at 50 “high-risk” intersections, a measure intended to save lives, Fuschillo explained. But during an emergency budget address last week, County Executive Tom Suozzi touted Fuschillo’s legislation as an important source of revenue that could factor into the county’s quest to close a yawning budget gap.
Stoplight cameras snap photos of the license plates of motorists who run red lights, or those that are turning red. Not only are motorists likely to think twice before attempting to beat a light if they know a camera may catch them, but there is evidence that such cameras reduce the number of accidents. County officials said that New York City, which has had the cameras since 1994, has reported a 73 percent reduction in violations over a 10-year period, as well as a 41 percent reduction in collision. New York is currently the only municipality that has the state's permission to install the cameras.
Fuschillo first proposed the bill in April 2007, after holding a joint press conference with Suozzi at the entrance to the Sunrise Mall in Massapequa -- the intersection of Carmans Road and Louden Street, where county officials had recorded 70 accidents between 2000 and 2005, 41 of which, they said, might have been avoided if drivers had obeyed the traffic signal. The proposed law would amend the state's Vehicle and Traffic Law to authorize Nassau County to adopt a local law for the installation of as many as 50 stoplight cameras.
Fuschillo cited their success in the city, saying that if Nassau had similar results, the cameras would not only save lives, but help change driver habits. "All too often, I see — and I'm sure everyone sees — that people are driving through red lights and putting other passengers and pedestrians at risk," he said. "If [the cameras] change driver habits in Nassau County as it has in New York City, it is a potentially lifesaving measure."
The bill passed in the Senate in both 2007 and 2008, but it did not have enough Assembly support in either year. This year, however, Fuschillo said he is confident that the bill would make it through both chambers.
In his Feb. 2 address, Suozzi proposed a three-part solution to help close the county's enormous budget gap. The stoplight camera legislation could generate $7 million in revenue from tickets issued to those who run the red lights, by Suozzi’s 2007 estimate. Combined with two other measures being considered by the state Legislature — the imposition of a county cigarette tax and an increase in traffic-ticket surcharges — the county could save $30 million a year, Suozzi estimated.
If the items do not pass, he said, he is prepared to make deep cuts in county programs such as the Youth Board; drug, alcohol and mental health programs; and aid to villages, in addition to imposing a sales tax on home heating fuel.
Fuschillo said he was unaware of Suozzi’s interest in the proposed legislation as a way to help close the county’s budget gap until Suozzi mentioned it in his address. Fuschillo said that his motivation was trying to save lives at dangerous intersections. "It's a traffic-safety measure as far as I'm concerned," he said.
Suozzi made it clear that he shared Fuschillo’s concern at a press conference in April 2007, saying, “I urge Albany approve the installation of these lifesaving cameras at our highest-risk intersections. They are powerful tools that will help us reduce the number of car accidents and car-accident deaths, while giving us the ammunition we need to go after dangerous scofflaws.”
Comments about this story? MRusso@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
