The camera on Henry Clay Avenue at Coliseum issued 40,000 tickets this year, and the camera on Jackson Avenue at Chestnut issued 25,000 — both overlooking 25-mph zones “where drivers tend to think the speed limit is higher — often for good reason,” reports Gordon Russell of The Times-Picayune.
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The camera on Henry Clay was requested by the Upper Hurstville Resident’s Association. The speculation by the Time Picayune that the camera was not installed for safety reasons is dead wrong. The residents were tired of their pets being hit by speeding cars, and were terrified that their children were next. As Henry Clay must be crossed to get to Audubon Park from the downtown direction, it has more that the average number of pedestrians. The number of tickets issued is evidence of the problem we were having.
The camera was our last choice to control the speeding. We requested several other less intrusive methods over the years. However, the city refused to take any steps unless we paid for a traffic study. Interestingly, however, the camera needed no traffic study in order to be installed.
As distasteful as the camera is, it was been effective.
Terrible roads until you hit the speed trap.
Can someone clarify if it is required to pay these tickets?
There’s been talk that these were not being upheld.
Thanks!
Here may be the reason no traffic study was required for the camera on Henry Clay:
Ray Nagin’s famous “chocolate city” speech had another line that may be appropriate to recall here. “I don’t care what people are saying Uptown or wherever they are.” Think what he meant by that, and look at camera placement.
The most deceptive red light cameras in the city are located on streets that, to Nagin, who grew up in Algiers and lived as an adult near the lake, would seem emblematic of thoroughfares where the drivers would all be white. He knew whom he wanted to annoy.
If he had really known the city, he would have known that every area is racially mixed, and his administration’s decision to place annoying cameras in the path of white drivers actually affected the usual mix of New Orleans drivers across the racial spectrum. Another bad legacy he left us.
Hopefully, the current administration will rethink this situation.
I am white…… Just thought I should mention. I am one of the 40,000….. Just thought I should mention. I turned off of Magazine from the Zoo where I paid for entrance to the Zoo for 4 adults, bought 2 season tickets, bought 1 child admission. Pay property taxes to New Orleans,pay my state taxes. I was at a full stop at the Magazine red light, turned. Received this bogus speeding ticket and paid it. Went across the causeway, pay st Tammany property taxes and baton rouge parish property tax. This occurred (my ticket) in like April of 2011 . Come to think of it I haven’t been back to New Orleans since. How I miss my child hood uptown.