New red light-camera contract means tech upgrade in Philly

A new vendor will replace Philadelphia’s red light-camera system in the New Year with state-of-the-art equipment.

Philadelphia Parking Authority Executive Director Vince Fenerty says an open bidding process ended with Xerox as the low bidder with its plan to install 111 new stoplight cameras and sensors at 25 monitored intersections in Philadelphia.

“Some of the underground wiring will be reutilized but the systems are totally different,” he said. “They are the most up to date systems that were chosen and they will be using red light radar technology.”

The upgrades should help cut down on the number of false alarms for the cameras. In addition to the high-tech upgrade, Fenerty said, the new system will be more economical to operate.

“The contract has the potential of saving us roughly $4 million over a potential 54-month period,” he said.

The cameras resulted in about $9 million in fines from motorists running red lights over the past budget year. The new contract runs until 2017.