Red-light cameras are for safety, not revenue, Oldsmar vice mayor says

Red-light cameras are coming to another Pinellas County community.

This month, red light cameras are being installed at four intersections in Oldsmar.

Three will be along Tampa Road - at Forest Lakes Boulevard, St. Petersburg Drive East and State Road 580 - and the fourth will be installed at the corner of Curlew Road and Gull Aire Boulevard.

Oldsmar Vice Mayor Jerry Beverland said the red-light camera program is meant to keep people safe.

"We’ve had a couple of serious accidents here in the last four or five months because of somebody running a red light," he said.

Some critics say red-light cameras are just a way for cities to make money. Beverland said that's not the case in Oldsmar.

"The money from red-light (tickets) is not going into the general fund," he said. "This is to save lives. My advice to everybody is, don’t run a red light. That’s all you have to do. Don’t speed in the city of Oldsmar and don’t run red lights."

Before choosing intersections for the cameras, the city did a year-long study to determine where red light violations most commonly occur.

Red-light runners will begin receiving warnings on July 1. Citations will be issued starting Aug. 1.