The City of Sioux Falls continues to grow at a dramatic, rapid pace. In a four-year period, Sioux Falls grew by approximately 13,000 people, the size of the city of Pierre. One of the significant growth-related challenges in our community is moving traffic. In a single, 12-hour workday period, nearly 32,000 vehicles passed through the intersection at 49th Street & Louise Avenue. At this same time, 203 pedestrians crossed through this intersection. At the intersection of 26th Street & Sycamore Avenue, nearly 28,000 vehicles passed through in a single 12-hour workday period along with 180 pedestrians. This growth in population and, correspondingly, in traffic flow is expected to continue.
As Sioux Falls continues to grow, the issue of observing proper traffic rules, particularly at intersections, is increasingly becoming a safety issue for our pedestrians as well as the vehicles. During a recent observational study of a high-traffic intersection in Sioux Falls at peak traffic hours, 17 drivers ran red lights in a 1-hour period. That is 1 driver every 4 minutes violating traffic laws and endangering occupants of other vehicles and pedestrians.
During the past 3 years, disregard for stop and go signal was sited as a causal factor in over 5% of the crashes in Sioux Falls. More than 1 out of 20 crashes involved someone not observing the traffic signals in this City.
These crashes contributed to:
- Lost productivity
- Lost property
- A significant number of deaths and injuries
- Higher hospital and insurance costs
- General ill feelings on our City’s roadways and increased aggressive driving behavior
Facts about Red Light Cameras:
- Red light running cameras have been proven to reduce red light violations by 40% nationwide.
- Red light running crashes account for 16-20 percent of the total crashes at urban signalized intersections.
- There are more than 40 communities that are using red light running cameras to enforce traffic laws.
- 13 states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, Washington) and the District of Columbia have laws either granting the use of cameras statewide or allowing them in specific communities.
- Of communities surveyed (half using and half not using cameras), anywhere from 72% to 84% of the citizens support the use of red light running cameras.
