The Los Alamitos Police Department contracts with the private company Redflex Traffic Systems to operate a red light camera system at the intersection of Katella Ave. and Los Alamitos Blvd. There are two cameras located at this intersection, recording both westbound and eastbound traffic on Katella Ave. The speed limit at this intersection is 35 mph, which means the CA Vehicle Code and the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices requires that each yellow light must be at least a minimum of 3.6 seconds in duration for through traffic. For protected left hand turns, the light must be at least a minimum of 3.0 seconds.
The westbound camera captures approximately 200 incidents per month, from which an average of about 115 tickets are issued. The eastbound camera averages about 100 incidents, with about 55 tickets resulting. Overall, the city of Los Alamitos issues about 3,300 red light camera tickets per year.
This intersection has been operational since a contract was signed with Redflex in July of 2005. A five year extension of the contract was signed in September of 2010, meaning the cameras at this intersection are likely to remain in place until at least 2015. The city pays $4,500 per approach, per month for the cameras, which equates to $162,000/year.
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