PHOENIX - Arizona is ending a groundbreaking and controversial program that put speed cameras along Phoenix-area freeways and in vans deployed across the state.
The state won't renew a two-year contract with Redflex Traffic Systems. The contract runs through July 15, and the 36 fixed cameras will be turned off and the 40 vans taken off highways on July 16, the Scottsdale-based company said Thursday.
The camera program - the target of an initiative measure proposed for the November ballot - was instituted by Gov. Jan Brewer's predecessor and has been debated from the start.
Critics scoffed at former Gov. Janet Napolitano's contention that she launched the program to improve highway safety by slowing traffic, and they cited a $90 million revenue estimate for the program's first year.
Actual revenue fell far short as many motorists ignored notices they got in the mail.
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Critics also said the cameras were intrusive and violated due-process rights of those accused of speeding.
Brewer's intention to end the program was first disclosed in her January budget proposal and resulted in Redflex getting a non-renewal letter this week from the Department of Public Safety. The letter was first reported by The Arizona Republic.
The end of the state program does not affect local governments' use of cameras for speed enforcement, but the proposed ballot measure would prohibit state and local governments from using cameras for both speed violations and red-light running.
Redflex, a unit of Australia-based Redflex Holdings Ltd., said in a disclosure to the Australian Securities Exchange that it could write off $5 million of assets because of the program's end. Under the state's contract, Redflex supplies cameras, vans and other equipment.
DPS officials declined to comment on the contract or to immediately release the letter. Redflex quoted the letter as saying the non-renewal reflected "a change in the agency's focus."
While hundreds of jurisdictions across the country use speed cameras and some states have limited programs using cameras in certain areas, Arizona's statewide deployment remained the widest state use of the technology.
Arizona's decision is a setback for supporters of speed-enforcement cameras, said Jonathan Adkins, a spokesman for the Washington-based Governors Highway Safety Association. "We need to look and see what happened in Arizona why didn't it work," he said.
Arizona's program could have become too controversial if it were perceived as being created to bring in revenue, he said. "If the public feels like it is a speed trap, that's a problem," he said.
The end of the program will be a disappointment, said Shoba Vaitheeswaran, a Redflex spokeswoman. She said it comes as the program continued to mature, with improvements being made in court processing procedures and other areas.
"This was a massive first of its kind deployment of this type of technology - the first in the country," she said.
Arizona lawmakers approved legislation this year that imposes new signage requirements and other changes for the program, but proposals to repeal the program died quickly.
Shawn Dow, a leader of the initiative campaign, welcomed the decision to end the program but said the drive's organizers still plan to file petition signatures on the July 1 deadline to qualify it for the November ballot.
Joanna Peters, a Phoenix traffic-safety activist, called the Brewer administration's decision irresponsible.
"They're ignoring a silent majority of folks who actually support the program," Peters said. "This is something we could fix, not just throw out the baby."
