YORK — Motorists who try to beat red lights in York County may soon find out that’s a costly gamble.
The York County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance Tuesday evening that allows the sheriff’s office to hire a company for a red-light camera enforcement program. The ordinance permits the imposition of a $50 fine for a violation. The program is limited to three intersections, but the supervisors provided a pathway for installing additional red-light cameras after periods of study and public input.
York-Poquoson Sheriff Ron Montgomery told supervisors that one intersection in the county has become especially problematic The intersection of George Washington Memorial Highway (Route 17) and Victory Boulevard is far and away the most dangerous intersection in the county, Montgomery said, but his office lacks the time and manpower to monitor red-light scofflaws there.
Since Jan.1, 2024, there have been 169 crashes at that intersection, according to Montgomery. In the same period, deputies have issued a total of 281 summonses for red-light violations in the entire county, with 162 coming just from that intersection — more than 57% of the total.
In the spring, Montgomery partnered with a red-light camera company to conduct a one-day study at the intersection. From 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., the study recorded 119 red-light violations.
“Red-light cameras have shown statistically across the country that not only do they reduce the amount of red-light violations, but there are varying statistics that show between 24% and 40% reduction in traffic crashes in the intersections where they occur,” Montgomery said.
Enforcement by individual deputies alone is challenging, Montgomery told supervisors, because a law enforcement officer must be present to witness a traffic violation, and there are few safe areas around the intersection where the deputy and offending motorist can safely pull over after the infraction.
“I believe that this is a huge public safety issue at this site,” Montgomery said.
Prior to the installation of a traffic camera at the intersection, the sheriff’s office will conduct an engineering study with the Virginia Department of Transportation and select a vendor to conduct the recordings and maintain the system. Each violation that is recorded by a traffic camera will be reviewed by a York County law enforcement officer, who will confirm that the vehicle ran the red light.
A $50 civil fine will be mailed to the vehicle’s owner or renter and will not be reported to an insurance company. The recipient of the ticket will have an opportunity to challenge the finding of a violation.
There will be no cost to the county to install the monitoring system and revenue collected from violators will go to the county’s general fund.
Supervisors in 2024 approved speed cameras in county school zones when warning lights are flashing. The revenue generated from the $100 tickets also goes into the county’s general fund.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Supervisor Wayne Drewery raised the issue of privacy. “My concern is about popping cameras everywhere, and I know that’s a big concern of a lot of people,” he said.
Montgomery said he also wanted to study two more intersections to see if a similar enforcement program is warranted: Hampton Highway (Route 134) and Victory Boulevard, and Fort Eustis Boulevard and George Washington Memorial Highway.
No more intersections are currently being considered, Montgomery said, although state code allows one camera per 10,000 residents in a jurisdiction. That regulation would permit York County to install up to seven.
Supervisor Sheila Noll expressed concern that there was not a proper public hearing ahead of implementation of a red-light camera at George Washington Memorial Highway and Victory Boulevard, and that citizens were not being provided the opportunity to provide input for the other two intersections under consideration.
Supervisors approved the ordinance allowing the sheriff’s office to move forward with the enforcement program by a vote of 4 to 1, with Noll casting the dissenting vote.
Ben Swenson, ben.swenson05@gmail.com
