Encinitas Docs - Main Page - Red Light Cameras

City of Encinitas Documents

Encinitas, pop. 60,000, is on the coast 20 miles north of San Diego.

Some of Encinitas' tickets can be ignored. If your "ticket" does not have the Superior Court's name and address on it, it is what I call a "Fake Ticket" or "Snitch Ticket." For more details, see the Fake Ticket section on the Your Ticket page and Docs Set # 4, below.

Early 2020: The City was about to extend the camera contract for more years -- then they shut the program down! See Set # 6, below.

Do you live in LA County? Was Zev Yaroslavsky your County Supervisor? (He represented the Third District, which includes the central and western San Fernando Valley, Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice, Beverly Hills, the City of West Hollywood, and part of Hollywood.)

During her career in the California Legislature, Kuehl made three attempts to pass bills to allow the use of automated speed enforcement (photo radar) in California.

This table made by highwayrobbery.net, using official reports provided by the City under the California Public Records Act.

[ ] indicates a footnote.
[1] Totals are as provided by the City.
[2] Annual totals, or annual projections, are by highwayrobbery.net. The 2019 projection is based upon Jan - Oct. data.
[3] Un-used columns are to allow for later expansion of City's system.
[4] Any figures in red type (or, if you are looking at this table in black and white, the upper figure when there are two or more figures in a cell) are what RedFlex calls Total Violations, or all incidents recorded by the cameras. The figures in black type are what RedFlex calls Notices Printed, and represent the sum of genuine citations issued (those filed with the court) plus any Nominations mailed (not filed with the court, a.k.a. Snitch Tickets). Due to time limitations data may have been posted to the table only for selected months or locations. If there is sufficient public interest, the remaining months or locations will be posted. Full official data has been received and is available at one of the links given above.
[5] Monthly data was requested but has not yet been received.
[6] The movement noted (left, right, straight) is based upon the March 2018 official graphs/tables of violations recorded - see Set # 3, below. The yellow light lengths noted are Jan. 2019 settings, from Set # 8, below.
[7] Includes enforcement of posted "no turn on red" signs.
[8] Ticket counts for these months are about 3% high, as the monthly data received from the City (see links, above) covered the first of the month to the first of the next month (inclusive).
[9] From the annual reports required by CVC 21455.5(i).
[10] From reports received from the Court.
[11] The report for May 2020 was run on May 13 and as a result many violations (83) were still "in progress" and had not been approved for issuance.

An official report showed that in 2014, 93% of the City's tickets were for turns, mostly left turns.

The City provided bar graphs or tables of Late Times, etcetera, for all of its cameras.
These graphs/tables track violations recorded (processed incidents), not tickets issued.
Where there is a large number of long Late Time violations in a curb lane, it is believed to indicate heavy ticketing on right turns.
(The curb lane will be the lane with the highest lane number.)

The picture above is an example from another city.

July 2004 & July 2010 Bar Graphs

Bar graphs are available for more than fifty other cities - see the list in the expanded version of Defect # 9.

Encinitas Docs Set # 4
Fake / Snitch Tickets

Some of Encinitas' "tickets" can be ignored! If your ticket does not have the Superior Court's name and address on it, it is a fake ticket, what I call a "Snitch Ticket." For more details, see Set # 7 below and the Snitch Ticket section on the Your Ticket page.

Encinitas Docs Set # 5
Missing Warning Signs Discovered July 2008

Encinitas forgot to put up the required warning signs at a couple of entrances to town.
The sign in this picture was apparently delivered to the location where it was to be erected, but whoever was supposed to put it up, didn't, and it was left lying in the weeds!

If you tell the judge about the missing signs and the judge wants to see photos, give the judge a copy of this page, or provide the link so that he or she can look at the photos on the courtroom computer.

These pictures were taken on July 25. It is believed that the signs were finally erected on July 30, or shortly thereafter.

For more details about the requirement to post warning signs, see Defect # 4 on the Home page.

Go here to see more photos.

Encinitas Docs Set # 6
The Contract - Closed in May 2020

June 2003 Accident Report to Traffic Commission
At the June 2003 meeting the Commissioners asked for more information. Minutes.
July 2003 Additional Report to Traffic Commission
At the July 2003 meeting the Commissioners recommended the use of red light cameras. Minutes.

Nov. 2003 Report to the City Council.
At the Nov. 2003 meeting the Council voted to install red light cameras. Minutes.

Feb. 2004 Initial Contract, 2009 Amendment, and 2010 Extension

In Mar. 2004 the City's traffic engineer recommended ECR/Encinitas Blvd. as a camera location.

The contract signed in 2004 contained, at Sec. 6.1, a clause allowing the city to terminate the contract if it was not cost neutral. The 2009 amendment removed that section.

A Second Amendment in 2011 extended the program seven years to 2018 without an escape clause permitting early termination for convenience, and provided for an annual review of financial feasibility.

In the 2011 amendment the City agreed to pay $3700 rent per camera per month. (By Dec. 2015 it was $3921 per month, due to cost of living adjustments.) Many area cities pay around $2000 (see FAQ # 17), and had Encinitas' negotiators obtained a $2000 price, they would have saved the City $428,400.
To cover that extra rent, the City will need to issue an extra 4284 tickets (assuming that the City receives $100 of revenue from each ticket issued).

Program Closing?

At their Nov. 26, 2012 meeting the City's Traffic Commission received a 7-page report as part of their periodic review of the camera program. The Commission voted to recommend to the council that the program be continued.
Detailed minutes of the meeting are in Attachment B to the June 2013 staff report, linked below.

At the June 26, 2013 council meeting, the council received a 57-page staff report which claimed large reductions in accidents and received a SaferStreetsLA report (which examined the claims made in the staff report and found them to be erroneous). The council discussed ending the program, but took no action to do so.

U-T Editorial

On Oct. 10, 2013, several days before the hearing scheduled for the city council in Poway to consider their staff's recommendation to remove the cameras from that City, the Union-Tribune published an editorial which recommended:

"Let’s eliminate every trace of this bad civic memory.
And to city leaders in Oceanside, Vista, Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del Mar — it’s time to do likewise.
The cameras are simply not doing the intended job."

Per invoices received in 2017, the City still was paying RedFlex $3921 per camera. In early 2018 City staff attempted to negotiate a significantly lower rent, like that paid by Del Mar and Solana Beach, but gave up after months of dodging and foot dragging by RedFlex.

Summer 2018: New 8-Year Contract Proposed, Eighteen Months Approved

At their June 20, 2018 meeting the city council was to vote on a staff report recommending the extension of the contract for up to eight years.
In June Highwayrobbery.net submitted an email pointing out that the staff report contained no useful information about safety.
The council voted to re-route the item to first go to the Traffic & Public Safety Commission.
On July 23 the Commission reviewed a staff report which was a near copy of staff's report from June 2013, and approved it 4 - 0 with three members absent.

On July 26 Highwayrobbery.net sent the council an email addressing the claims staff made in the staff report submitted to the Commission.

Final action by the city council was at its meeting of August 22. They voted 3 - 2 (Kranz & Muir nay) to extend the contract eighteen months with a rent of $3400.
UT Article Archived Copy
Advocate Article Archived Copy

Early 2020 - More Years?

For the contract renewal discussions of late 2019 RedFlex prepared a Renewal Report breaking out citations by Zip Code, also showing the license plate numbers of repeat
offenders and the number of real citations vs. Snitch Tickets.

A staff report prepared for the council meeting of Dec. 11, 2019 asked the council if it wished
to have staff negotiate an extension of the contract, which otherwise will expire in May 2020.
On Dec. 9 Highwayrobbery.net submitted an email.

At the Dec. 11 meeting the council asked staff to come back (when?) with more information. Post-meeting articles:
UT Article Archived Copy
UT Editorial - Scrap 'em Archived Copy
Coast News Article Archived Copy

On May 6, 2020 the city council voted 3- 2 to terminate the program (effective May 14).

This list of contracts and amendments was up-to-date as of 5-13-20.

Encinitas Docs Set # 7
80% of Tickets Go to Visitors

In a July 2018 staff report the City revealed that 80% of the City's camera tickets go to visitors.

For the contract renewal discussions of late 2019 RedFlex prepared a Renewal Report showing the number of repeat
offenders, also breaking out citations by Zip Code and showing the number of real citations vs. Snitch Tickets.

Encinitas Docs Set # 8
Signal Timing, Speed Surveys, Accident History

Ten-Year Accident History, 1994 - 2004

2003 Speed Surveys

2011 Speed Surveys

Sept. 2015 Signal Timing:
ECR at Encinitas Blvd.
ECR at Leucadia/Olivenhain

Dec. 2015 Signal Timing:
ECR at Encinitas Blvd.
ECR at Leucadia/Olivenhain

Jan. 2019 Signal Timing:
ECR at Encinitas Blvd.
ECR at Leucadia/Olivenhain

Encinitas Docs Set # 9
More Coming

There may be some more Encinitas information posted in the next few weeks. Mark your calendar to remind you to come back here and look!

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RED LIGHT CAMERAS
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