ORANGE PARK, Fla. – Orange Park is exploring adding more controversial red-light cameras in busy areas, but officials say they won’t be adding any to intersections for at least a year.
That was the message from Town Manager Joe Taylor, who explained to News4JAX that while the Orange Park Police Department had been asked to review the possible need for more red-light cameras, the town won’t be moving forward with adding cameras until they look into more data.
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Taylor said that after a bad crash at the intersection of Park and Milwaukee avenues last year, one of the Town Council members asked the police department to look into whether the intersection would be a good place for a red-light camera.
The police department ended up reviewing all of the town’s intersections and found that Milwaukee and Park was not a high crash area, but Wells Road and Park Avenue, which does not have a red-light camera, is the town’s worst intersection for total crashes over a three-year period.
After they reviewed the findings from the OPPD’s study, the council asked the Public Safety Committee to look into the issue, and the committee was presented with the information about two weeks ago.
As part of the presentation, Orange Park Police Chief Randy Case got a quote from Verra Mobility about the possible cost of adding red-light cameras at Park Avenue and Wells Road.
According to the quote, it could cost about $3,500 to $4,250 per camera per month, depending upon the acquisition process and how many were added, Taylor said.
For now, though, Case recommended adding signs at the intersection, letting driers know that it is a “high crash area and to use caution.” After a year, the OPPD will review crash data again to see if the signs helped reduce crashes at the intersection.
Taylor said town leaders have heard mixed opinions from residents about adding more red-light cameras.
“Some of those residents are pro cameras and feel the value is in the safety and decreased accidents and some feel that they are intrusive and an overreach of authority,” Taylor wrote in an email to News4JAX.
Taylor said the data, however, shows red-light cameras have helped reduce crashes at the three intersections in Orange Park where they are currently located.
Total crashes reduced from 143 to 127 across the three intersections from 2023-2024 (the year before and after the cameras were added). That’s an 11% decrease in one year.
Rear-end crashes reduced by 21%, angle crashes fell by 27% and injury crashes were reduced by 44%, according to data provided by the Town of Orange Park.