The TIMES of Smithtown
Volume 29, No. 7
Serving Smithtown • St. JameS • neSconSet • commack • hauppauge • kingS park • Fort Salonga April 14, 2016
$1.00
‘Beau Jest’ delivers at Theatre Three also: ‘Cabaret’ at SCPa, Spring appreciation Day in Stony Brook
Page B1
Trotta targets red light cameras Photo by Phil Corso
a county report says indian head road and Jericho turnpike in commack saw crashes increase since a red light camera was installed in 2014. BY phil corSo
When it comes to Suffolk County’s red light camera program, Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) said he’s seen enough. Trotta took to the intersection of Indian Head Road and JeriNorth Shore voters sound off as race for cho Turnpike in Commack on Monday to call on the county to U.S. president hits New York state pull the emergency brake on its Page a7 red light camera initiative and reevaluate, citing an increase in traffic crashes with injuries at that location. The legislator picked the Indian Head Road red light camera location because the county’s 2014 Red Light Safety Program report showed crashes with injuries had gone up more than 100 percent there, making it a prime
Primary Day prep
spot to prove Trotta’s point. The annual report said the yearly average of reported crashes with injury went from 8.7 before the camera’s installation to 19.3 after. The camera at that intersection was installed in January 2014, giving the 2014 report 11 months of traffic data to work with while comparing it to traffic patterns recorded over three years between 2007 and 2009. Back in October, Trotta joined with other Republican lawmakers from Suffolk County to solicit input from the public about the red light camera program. At the time, he said residents alerted him about an increase in rear end crashes since people were stopping abruptly at yellow lights to avoid being ticketed. The 2014 annual report on the red light
program proved that notion. According to the report, rear end crashes increased by 42 percent since the cameras were installed. “Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has turned the residents of Smithtown into crash test dummies,” Trotta said on Monday. “This is just another example of [the Bellone administration’s] attempt to raise revenues through ‘taxation by citation.’” However, the county’s Red Light Safety Program was enacted in 2009 — years before Bellone assumed the county executive position in 2012. The annual report said the county collected $27.5 million in citation payments in 2014 and paid $9.5 million to the vendor ReD LIgHTS continued on page a12
‘This is just another example of Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone’s administration’s attempt to raise revenues through “taxation by citation.”’ — Rob TRoTTa
Animal Health & Wellness Veterinary Office, PC ©138979
cOmprehensive veterinary care
available fOr rOutine anD emergency visits
Open 7 Days
SteVen temPletOn, D.V.m. 243-2 East Main St. (Rte 25A) tinA ting, D.V.m. eASt SetAuket 631.751.2200 www.animalhealthwellness.com