State Rep. Glorioso Vows to Fight to Keep Bloomingdale's Red-Light Cameras

A vocal critic of a bill that would have torn down red-light cameras all over the state, including the one at Bloomingdale Avenue and Bell Shoals Road, State Rep. Rich Glorioso, R-Plant City, says he will be heard again next year if the bill is reintroduced.

“It’s about saving lives and red-light cameras save lives,” said Glorioso June 15, who represents Valrico and Bloomingdale.  “That’s why I opposed the bill.”

Florida legislators passed a law permitting the use of red-light cameras in 2010. However, a bill was introduced this year that would outlaw the cameras. The repeal bill (HB 4087) passed the state House May 2 before stalling in a Florida Senate committee.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-New Port Richey, believes the law is merely a gravy train for the companies who provide the cameras. Corcoran has not yet decided if he will reintroduce the legislation. 

“We are going to look at all our options and decide later down the line,” said Jared Ochs, Corcoran’s legislative assistant May 11. The state Legislature reconvenes in January 2012. 

Although they have only been operating in Hillsborough County for little more than a year, Glorioso believes the red-light cameras are already saving lives.

“In Temple Terrace, the number of tickets they issued dropped by 68 percent since the cameras have been installed so people are aware the cameras are there and they are stopping. We have also had no fatal accidents at the intersections in Hillsborough County where the cameras are installed, and we had fatal accidents there before.”

While he concedes there is the possibility of more rear-end collissions as drivers become accustomed to the cameras, Glorioso says the benefits far outweigh any short-term negatives.

“The number of those crashes decreases as drivers get used to the cameras, and let’s not forget that 50 percent of the fatalities in cases where drivers run red lights are pedestrians so this is not just protecting the drivers.”

Hillsborough County operates , two in the greater Brandon area - Brandon Town Center Drive and Brandon Boulevard and Bell Shoals Road and Bloomingdale Avenue. Those two intersections accounted for 30.6 percent of the red-light citations issued by the sheriff’s office between Jan. 1, 2010, and Feb.28, 2011.                     

Of the six intersections with red-light cameras, Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and Fletcher Avenue was the worst with 9,070 citations or 26.7 percent. In total, the sheriff’s office issued 33,966 red-light citations over the same period. The tickets cost drivers $158.

Tampa, St. Petersburg and Oldsmar recently voted to install red-light cameras. Temple Terrace already has the cameras in place.

Glorioso made the comments after an awards ceremony at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office headquarters on Falkenburg Road, Tampa. The Plant City Republican picked up an award from the sheriff’s office for his “vocal advocacy for public safety.” The sheriff’s office noted Glorioso’s opposition to the red-light repeal bill in announcing the award.

The sheriff’s office also would like to see the cameras remain in place.

“You can go the sheriff’s office Website and watch the videos of drivers running red lights and judge for yourself. I think any reasonable person would see the need for the cameras after ,” said Cpl. Troy Morgan, who oversees the sheriff’s office’s red-light camera program.