The city of Garden Grove contracts with the private company Redflex Traffic Systems to operate a red light camera system at the intersection of Brookhurst St. and Chapman Ave. There are two cameras located at this intersection, one monitoring southbound traffic on Brookhurst, and another monitoring the westbound left turn only lane on Chapman.
The speed limit at this intersection is 45 mph, which means the CA Vehicle Code and the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices requires that each yellow light must be at least a minimum of 4.2 seconds in duration for through traffic. For protected left hand turns, the light must be at least a minimum of 3.0 seconds.
The southbound camera captures approximately 100-150 incidents per month, from which an average of about 60-80 tickets are issued. Many of these tickets are for rolling right hand turns, often against stale red lights.
The westbound camera captures only about 10-15 incidents per month, from which an average of about 4-6 tickets are issued. Although this camera remains operational, the city negotiated for Redflex to waive the fee for this approach as part of the contract signed in 2010.
Overall, the city of Garden Grove has 14 red light camera approaches at eight different intersections within the city limits. The city issues roughly 600-800 red light camera tickets per month.
This intersection has been operational since the original contract was signed with Redflex in 2001. A five year extension of the contract was signed in September of 2010, meaning the cameras at this intersection are likely to remain in place until at least 2015. The city pays at least $2,900 per approach, per month for 11 operation approaches, which equates to nearly $400,000 a year.
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