BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA —The township has received the green light for automated red light photo enforcement.
The Bensalem Township Council heard a presentation about the project for the intersections of Knights and Street roads and Route 1 and Old Lincoln Highway in late June.
But the project never got going.
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Public Safety Director William McVey had told Patch recently that the township was still waiting on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for certain permits.
Meanwhile, Warrington Township became the first in Bucks County to begin the automated red light photo enforcement.
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McVey said that Warrington Township was a step ahead of Bensalem on PennDOT’s list.
“We’re ready to go,” McVey said. “We can’t wait.”
Robyn Briggs, PennDOT’s community relations coordinator, told Patch Monday that the final traffic signal plans and the red light camera plans for the project were approved in mid-January.
She said that the municipality that applies for the grant is responsible for installation with a contractor they choose.
Briggs said she did not know what stage of construction Bensalem was in.
Once the municipality’s contractor is finished, PennDOT will perform a final inspection, Briggs said.
Robert Bugsch, the police department’s special operations commander, had told the council in June that the technology is similar to what’s used by Abington and Philadelphia in that the automated red light photo enforcement captures the license plate of motorists who are speeding and processes the violation automatically.
Accidents have plagued the two intersections for years, township officials said.
Council President Edward Kisselback stated, in referencing a “Time” magazine article, that there were 252 accidents on Knights and Street roads and 189 accidents at Route 1 and Old Lincoln Highway over five years.
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Warning notices would be issued first for violators over the first two months of the pilot program before $100 tickets would be issued.
Motorists would not have points on their driver’s licenses if they violated the red light cameras. A system would also be put in place for drivers seeking to argue the penalties where motorists can explain themselves.
Red light cameras went into operation in late January at two heavily traveled intersections in Warrington: Route 611 and Bristol Road and Route 611 and Street Road (Route 132).
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