Red-light cameras in Philadelphia suburbs near approval

Red-light cameras soon will be legal in some communities in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties, under a bill that was poised for legislative approval Friday.

A bill to continue Philadelphia's red-light camera program past its scheduled expiration Saturday was broadened in the Senate to include Pittsburgh, as well as Philadelphia-area towns with more than 20,000 people and accredited police departments.

That would include Falls, Middletown, and Warminster Townships in Bucks County; West Chester and Tredyffrin, West Goshen, and West Whiteland Townships in Chester County; Chester, Media, and Haverford, Radnor, Springfield, and Upper Darby Townships in Delaware County; and Norristown and Abington, Horsham, Lower Merion, Lower Providence, Montgomery, Upper Dublin, and Upper Merion Townships in Montgomery County.

The towns would be required to apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for approval for red-light cameras at specific intersections.

All of the money from fines, after expenses, would go to the state's Motor License Fund for highway improvements around the state.

The cameras are designed to decrease red-light running and improve safety at high-crash intersections. The program, in Philadelphia and in other states, has generated controversy, with critics arguing that the cameras are more about generating revenue than about safety.

In Philadelphia, motorists caught by cameras at 21 city intersections have paid about $50 million in fines since the program started in 2005.