Red-Light Cameras Get Green Light in Sarasota and Boca Raton

With clearance from the Legislature, two more Florida cities are installing intersection cameras that issue $158 tickets to motorists caught blowing through red lights.

By the end of the year, Sarasota expects to have 10 or more cameras at busy intersections.

Boca Raton plans to install a half-dozen cameras.

Following the lead of other cities, the municipal officials say the cameras will act as a deterrent to red-light runners and make streets safer. Critics call it a money-generating scheme and say longer yellow lights are a cheaper and more effective way to reduce intersection crashes.

From each red-light fine, the state gets $67.20 and the local city and county keep the rest.

Opponents came up short in efforts to ban the cameras this year when the state Senate failed to take up a prohibition bill that narrowly passed the House.

Now more cities are off to the races.