TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The City of Tucson is weighing a plan to restore red light cameras and photo radar at busy intersections, a decade after voters approved to remove the technology.
The City believes this will make the roads safer and hold people accountable for traffic violations.
In November 2015, Prop 201 passed by more than 25,000 votes, banning traffic control cameras in Tucson. The city is now suggesting putting a repeal on the ballot.
The Broadway and Wilmot intersection is just one of the highest concentrations of traffic deaths and serious injuries in Tucson, according to the city. As part of a broader Safety Action Plan (SAP), the city is now considering putting traffic enforcement cameras back on the ballot.
A city-provided map shows the top 20 high-injury locations for all crashes, including those involving bicycles and pedestrians, marked as red dots across Tucson.
The City says it has seen a 111% increase in traffic-related fatalities from 2022 to 2024 compared to the last years of photo enforcement from 2013 to 2015.
The memorandum states: "Each year since the elimination of our photo enforcement program, the number of traffic-related fatalities has been higher than that three-year average. 2015 experienced 54 traffic fatalities, the highest number of those three years. 2018 saw 27% more fatalities than 2015, 2019 saw 48% more than 2015, and in 2022, we saw an 83% increase vs. 2015."
Todd Alan, a Tucson resident, said cameras would make a meaningful difference on the roads.
"Cuts down on the accidents, guessing game, crime, all kinds of reasons," Alan said. "It's kind of like in the NFL with the instant replay, you know, sometimes without cameras they don't get it right. If you got cameras, you got facts."
The City says cameras help the Tucson Police Department (TPD) hold drivers accountable.
According to the City, "The use of photo enforcement technology would act as a force multiplier for TPD because the cameras are monitoring traffic behavior 24/7."
From 2013 to 2015, 46,000 photo enforcement citations were issued each year. Without cameras, TPD issued about 36,000 citations per year from 2022 to 2024.
There is a process though before this goes on a local ballot.
The state legislature may put a question on the November 2026 ballot asking voters whether to largely ban the use of traffic cameras.
If voters approve it, state and local governments would only be allowed to keep using this technology if they have a signed contract by December 31, 2026 to operate a photo enforcement system.
Even then, cities with those contracts would still need to get approval from their local voters in 2027 or 2028 before continuing to use traffic cameras.
The city should know by the end of June 2026 whether this statewide ballot measure will move forward.
Mayor and Council will review the traffic safety update as well as the red light camera and photo radar consideration at Tuesday's meeting.
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