Melissa Sharbarth urges Youth Commission to agendize red-light cameras to protect young pedestrians

Melissa Sharbarth, a founding member of Safe Streets in Sanitas, urged the Encinitas Youth Commission on March 4 to agendize red-light cameras so commissioners can weigh in before the item goes to the City Council. "Please agendize red light cameras at a future meeting so this commission can weigh in and, we hope, lend its voice to the conversation before city council," Sharbarth said.

Sharbarth described how modern enforcement systems work: the camera takes a photo of a traffic violation, two officers review the images, and, if verified, the ticket is issued to the registered owner. "The companies that own the red light cameras are not involved in the decision to issue a ticket," she said, stressing that current systems differ from older programs that drew community pushback.

Sharbarth cited data from earlier programs, noting that while cameras detected nearly 1,000,000 vehicles monthly historically, only a tiny fraction were flagged and about one-third of flagged vehicles received tickets after officer review. She said the most significant point is that "80% of the tickets were issued to non residents," a statistic she used to argue that commuter behavior, not local drivers, contributes to unsafe conditions for young pedestrians and cyclists in Encinitas.

Sharbarth framed the request as a youth-safety issue: "Young people are disproportionately impacted by dangerous streets as pedestrians, cyclists, and passengers," she said, and asked commissioners to help protect youth by advancing the discussion.

The commission did not take a formal vote on the request at the March 4 meeting. The item was raised during oral communications and commissioners and staff noted that future speakers on traffic safety can be scheduled as part of the commission's work plan and agenda-setting process.