Members of the Hartford City Council are planning to introduce a resolution Monday that'll support bringing a red light camera pilot program to the city in an effort to curb unsafe driving practices.
The resolution, which is being introduced by City Council President Maly Rosado and four others, emphasizes the need for "immediate action to curb traffic collisions, hit-and-run accidents, and pedestrian injuries by reckless drivers."
The state of Connecticut general statutes currently do not allow for the use of red light cameras, the resolution reads. But it could be taken up in the next legislative session, which is slated for Feb. 9, 2022.
The members of the council proposing the pilot program hope that they'll be able to gather data on effectiveness of reducing intersection traffic collisions and unsafe driving practices. During the pilot period, no fines or formal tickets would be issued to residents photographed by the red light cameras, according to the resolution.
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Residents with violations during the proposed pilot program would be sent a formal notice of violation. This would not negatively impact them or their driving record.
City council members emphasized the need for such a program, citing data collected by the Connecticut Crash Data Repository which documented 2,735 traffic collisions in the city of Hartford alone between Aug. 31, 2020 and Aug. 31, 2021.
The resolution is backed by four Democrats: Rosado, Nick Lebron, Marilyn Rossetti and James “Jimmy” Sanchez Jr. Hartford Party representative John Gale, a former Democrat, is also in support of the resolution.
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The next city council meeting will take place Monday at 7 p.m. For more information on the soon-to-be proposed resolution, click here.
