More than 10,000 warnings issued during first 60 days of Pittsburgh's red light camera enforcement

More than 10,000 warnings were issued during the first 60 days of enforcement of red light cameras at two Pittsburgh intersections.

Countless injuries, some deaths and avoidable accidents over the years put Pittsburgh on a path to try and make the city's streets safer.

Between traffic calming efforts and red light cameras, progress is being made.

The city's efforts, until recently, have been focused on trying to slow drivers down.

"The framework for most of our traffic calming projects are speed humps or speed tables, which are the real physical enforcers of speeds," said Jan Raether, Infrastructure Engagement Manager for Pittsburgh's Department of Mobility and Infrastructure.

Raether said that three months after calming efforts are installed, officials can look at the percentage of drivers who are speeding before and after the measures are implemented.

"[We can] see how much of a drop, and it almost always is a drop," Raether said.

It will take a little while longer to know the impact of Pittsburgh's red light cameras which have been installed at multiple city locations, but officials said they've gotten the first indicator from the equipment at the intersections of Penn Avenue and Dallas Avenue, and at Saw Mill Run Boulevard and Woodruff Street.

"In the two-month warning period, those two intersections had more than 10,000 warnings issued," Raether said.

And remember, every warning comes after screening from an officer with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police..

"Those are real reported confirmed violations at those two intersections," Raether said.

In places that have instituted red light cameras, it is not unusual to see big initial numbers until drivers realize the cameras are there. Then things settle down.

In Newmarket, a town in Ontario, Canada, 55 cameras have been in operation for over 10 years. The average camera now results in around 1,000 tickets per year and across Ontario, transportation officials say the cameras have reduced serious crashes by up to 25%. 

"I know that we do expect a considerable reduction," Raether said. "I don't know that we've put a target percent reduction on it."

The city of Pittsburgh plans to have around 30 red light cameras installed in total over the next five years.