Local councilman Bill Peduto last week proposed an initiative to traffic cameras at the busiest, most dangerous intersections in the city to automatically ticket drivers who do not obey the traffic signals. According to plan, the revenue raised by the tickets ($100 each) would go directly to improvements for alternative transportation, namely cyclists and pedestrians (those most affected by drivers who disobey traffic laws). A friend initiated a discussion among a group of bicycle commuters, and generally, our reaction has been lukewarm. The general feeling is that, yes, better safety is a Good Thing, but are we being fooled into thinking there is a pot of gold waiting at the end of rainbow? Peduto said he expects “millions of dollars” to be generated through the tickets, with most of it going into a fund for alternative transportation initiatives. That sounds quite good in theory, but given our cash-strapped city, I have trouble imagining council allowing pedestrians and (eeeww!) cyclists to sit on that much money for a few signs and maybe another bike trail.

In thinking about this over the last few days, my own cynicism has softened. I’ve connected the dots a bit between the ideas of Ivan Illich (who actually wrote extensively about the bicycle and the role the government should play in promoting alternative transportation) and my own localist tendacies and realized that this is the sort of thing our city government should be doing. I am hopeful that pedestrians and cyclists will see the “millions” of dollars these cameras might generate? Not terribly. Even if council passes this measure today, it is likely to be de-fanged a bit. It isn’t good politics to tell your constituents that you just helped pass a bill that would give millions of dollars to pedestrians and cyclists, not when the city has trouble providing basic services. In the end, however, this is likely a better initiative than the city spending more money on bringing another failed department store to downtown.

And perhaps, just for a moment, I can suspend my political cynicism.

Posted on 12 December 2006