Milwaukee Wants Red Light Cameras; Wisconsin Doesn't Allow Them

"The city of Milwaukee wants state law changed to allow red light cameras and speed enforcement cameras installed at the most dangerous intersections in the city," reports Corri Hess.

According to Hess, there is already draft legislation in the works that would "allow law enforcement agencies in Milwaukee to photograph vehicles going through a red light and those speeding more than 21 miles per hour."

"Danielle Decker, a lobbyist for the city of Milwaukee, said if the Legislature were to approve the bill, the city would start a five-year pilot of the cameras at about 50 intersections," according to Hess.

The article sets the political debate over red lights in Wisconsin (where it's illegal throughout the state to install cameras at intersections) in context of debates in other cities and states, headlined most recently by a law signed in Texas to outlaw the cameras.

Hess also notes a 2017 study by Case Western Reserve University researchers [pdf] that "found red light cameras changed the types of accidents occurring, but not the frequency of accidents or injuries." Unmentioned is a more recent analysis that finds pedestrian fatalities increase after red light cameras are removed.