Photo Red? Stop
Spokesman-Review Letter to the Editor

Usually I’m all for the tough decisions made by our good mayor, but I’m a bit dismayed at the Photo Red expansion. Prior to Photo Red, the fix for problematic intersections was to extend the yellow light a couple seconds. My Google survey of Photo Red indicates a coin toss as to whether it actually helps personal safety; rear-end collisions appear to generally increase along with the associated property damage. Some unbiased Spokane data would be interesting.

If Spokane is truly interested in increasing safety at intersections, add those pedestrian countdown timers. Second Avenue is so much easier to go through smoothly with those 12 second clocks. If I’m not going to make it though an intersection, I can slow down much earlier for the inevitable red light rather than slamming on my brakes for a yellow.

Let’s remember the Corbin Park trash collection fiasco and nip this Photo Red, money-raising idea in the bud. Sending half the money collected to Arizona just makes Spokane that much poorer.

Leonard Butters
Spokane

It never occured to me that drivers would use those countdown timers to determine if they have enough time to make it through the light. That scares me, because at the same time a pedestrian could be doing the same thing and a driver doing the math in their head may not notice a walker stepping out in the street.