Bedford Park fails to post traffic stats online for more than 3 years, pulls an ‘Animal House’ on red-light camera language

by Andrew Wyatt The village of Bedford Park has had some trouble managing its red-light camera program and posting traffic safety statistics online in the past several years. In a rush to implement its  red-light camera program, village officials pulled an “Animal House” and mistakenly used boilerplate language on the village’s website: “The purpose of this...

by Andrew Wyatt

The village of Bedford Park has had some trouble managing its red-light camera program and posting traffic safety statistics online in the past several years.

In a rush to implement its  red-light camera program, village officials pulled an “Animal House” and mistakenly used boilerplate language on the village’s website:

“The purpose of this program is to increase traffic safety in ‘City name.’”

While this mishap may seem comical, Bedford Park’s failure to meet state standards in posting traffic safety statistics online certainly is not.

According to Illinois law and the Illinois Department of Transportation, municipalities and counties that have red-light camera programs are supposed to prepare traffic safety evaluations of red-light camera intersections one year after the installation and every three years thereafter. This evaluation should include crash date specifics for the three years prior and for the period after camera installations, along with analysis of the crash data, a summary of any increase in crash types, signal timing and traffic volumes.

Unfortunately, Bedford Park hasn’t posted any information online about the results since 2009, and even then failed to post accident statistics for the entire three years prior to camera installation in June 2008.

If Bedford Park’s program is truly about public safety, then the village’s first priority should be to demonstrate that the program actually works. If it doesn’t, the red-light cameras should be taken down immediately.

Bedford Park’s lack of compliance with state law causes us to question the intent, merit and integrity of the village’s red light camera program.

Bedford Park residents and businesses deserve full disclosure regarding the village’s red-light camera program.