red light cameras coming to Lacey this May

At the intersection of Sleater-Kinney and Pacific:

A City Council committee gave final approval Friday to activate the systems, after directing that drivers who run red lights receive warning notices for the first 30 days. Starting June 1, violators will be mailed $124 citations.

"This is going to go on for a long time," Councilwoman Ann Burgman said in support of the grace period. "We'll just get them settled in."

The start dates could be pushed back as the city makes final preparations, Police Chief Dusty Pierpoint said.

The city began exploring the use of the cameras in late 2005.

Pierpoint and council members have said they expect the program to be "revenue-neutral" and that the motivation is public safety, not getting money. They say drivers running red lights is a growing problem.

At least six other cities around the country told the same lie at the outset, but then succumbed to temptation, reducing yellow light times to boost earnings. That may not happen in Lacey--but there are many more reasons to distrust red light cameras. See here, for starters.