CLEVELAND- Cleveland voters overwhelmingly said ‘yes’ to Issue 35 Tuesday night– that means traffic cameras in Cleveland will go away.
City officials said the cameras will be turned off almost immediately.
Voting ‘yes’ meant a ban on use of traffic cameras “…unless a law enforcement officer is present at the location of the device and personally issues the ticket.”
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Cleveland Media Relations Director Dan Williams said replacing all 64 cameras with an officer around the clock isn’t feasible, as it would take about 192 officers and cost more than $19 million
“I don’t think there’s a plan right now to put officers at every one of those intersections,” said Williams. “There are times we just won’t be able to cover those intersections.”
With the passage of Issue 35, the City of Cleveland will lose about $6 million in revenue from tickets every year. City leaders said they would need to make cuts to make up for the loss, and are hoping that doesn’t happen. They said the cameras deter speeding, making streets safer while freeing up police officers.
Williams said the city will turn off the cameras, but past tickets will still be enforced.
Then, camera operator Xerox will remove the equipment.
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