AUGUSTA – Plans to install traffic safety cameras at intersections across the state have been stalled after the Legislature’s Transportation Committee voted unanimously Thursday to kill a bill put forward by state Rep. Donald Pilon, D-Saco.
The committee listened to lengthy testimony during a public hearing held Tuesday, including a statement from Auburn Mayor John Jenkins, about the pros and cons of installing the cameras. During a work session Thursday, lawmakers decided the bill could wait.
“They didn’t think legislation was prudent at this time, but they did think this technology does merit further study,” said Karen Nadeau-Drillen, the committee’s policy analyst.
The committee asked Nadeau-Drillen to draft a letter to the Department of Public Safety encouraging the department to work with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Transportation, the insurance industry, the Maine Municipal Association and others who testified at the public hearing in examining the issue further.
“There is a compendium of research out there about the use of these cameras nationwide and in the Lewiston and Auburn area, so the committee hopes a group can study those results and come back to this issue at another time,” Nadeau-Drillen said.
– Rebekah Metzler
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