Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati

Guest article by “funnelcake.”

I wonder if city council’s projected $1 Million dollar stop light camera windfall will include replacement costs & police protection for all of the cameras.

I recently saw this article on the Wired blog about a group in England destroying the ‘Gatsos.’ Both speeding cameras & stop light cameras are being targeted.  They are being burned, blown up, torn down, gutted, spray painted, paint balled.  The group in merry old England has claimed that they have perfected a method of destroying Gastos in just a few seconds.  Since the summer of 2000, they have destroyed over 1,000 Gastos.  In a recent press release they have also announced they will “target for destruction all speed cameras in the UK.”

Here are four pages of destroyed Gatsos.

I don’t advocate the destruction of public property.  But I do want to point out the inevitable before we open up the public coffers for a failed stealth tax program.

While I do make a point of reporting graffiti, I somehow don’t envision myself lifting a finger to call the authorities if I see someone disabling one of these devices.

I personally don’t want to get a traffic fine every time I get stuck at a light trying to turn left (who hasn’t been there?).  And I by no means want to be the one behind some nervous nelly who slams on their brakes the instant a light turns yellow.  Collision rates & insurance rates are bound to skyrocket.

I say nip this in the bud & vote it out.

Thank you for reading (and printing from) The Cincinnati Beacon.