[Disclosure: This blog is written from my perspective as both a candidate for a seat on Gloucester Township Council and as a concerned citizen of Gloucester Township with questions and concerns about reckless spending and business as usual in Gloucester Township.]
You know, I had almost decided to give up using the “Candidate’s Blog” title for some of my blogs until I realized how much it seemed to bug some of my critics. So, here we go…
Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Red-Light Cameras is the topic that just won’t go away. With just under six weeks left in the General Election run-up, I have knocked on a lot of doors, talked to quite a few residents, and walked a lot of neighborhoods in Gloucester Township. Honestly, I think I remember talking to one person very early in our campaign who said he/she thought the red-light cameras were a good idea. Everyone else I’ve asked turns sour at the mention of the cameras. The fact is, it seems to continue to be a hot topic and everyone wants to see them go away. Everyone, that is, but Mr. Dave Mayer and his minions, who seem to have found a way to profit from the misfortune of township residents who get caught in the trap.
Dave Mayer is quoted saying, "We had to try to slow traffic down. And we had to do that for a number of reasons. One is safety. The other is economic development. Traffic just flowed too quickly through there. As you can see, that corridor is not thriving" (Township Rakes in Red-Light Cameras Revenue).
Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Is that corridor thriving now, Mr. Mayer? Does anyone feel safer? Or do people just feel angry because they don’t have four hours to waste in traffic court to protest an $85 fine that they think was administered unfairly? A driver in front of me in another section of township did a pause and turn on red and got away scott-free. Why was what he did any different from a right turn on red at Erial Road? In fact, there is absolutely no traffic coming across B-C Road at Erial where commuters coming off of 42 are turning right to go home. None! I contend, and will defend this against all comers, that a right onto Erial Road from B-C Road is one of the safest turns one can make. So, where is the danger from which Mr. Mayer feels compelled to protect us?
Township Council President, (Glen) Bianchini, said the township is approved for 16 red-light cameras, but there are no current plans to install more” (Red Light Cameras in Township to Get Certification).
One might ask, why not install all sixteen? Is it because they ran out of lights on Blackwood-Clementon Road or did they think wisely that if they had placed anymore R.L.C.s on that road that the mayor and council would have been run out of town on a rail?
Here’s a fact: the median home value is reported in Gloucester Township as sitting at $153,000. That puts the municipal tax (0.833 per $100 of home value) at $1275 for the median home in GT. Figure in one red-light ticket at $85 and that adds 0.055/per $100 to your tax rate effectively bringing your municipal tax rate to 0.888. Plain and simple, the red-light camera fines are a special tax on people who have to use Blackwood-Clementon Road to get to work or to shop. Why aren’t residents in Glendora, Hilltop, Blenheim, Chews Landing, Erial, Sicklerville, etc., burdened with red-light cameras to raise township revenue? Have the residents of Blackwood and the businesses on B-C Road done something to single themselves out for this special punishment?
Radio talk-show host Dom Giordano from WPHT, 1210 on AM radio (The Big Talker), has made an on-the-air invitation to Dave Mayer to come on his show and explain his comments about the red-light cameras in Blackwood. Why in a township of 22 square miles do we need ten red-light cameras on a one-mile stretch of Blackwood-Clementon Road?
Come on out, Mr. Mayer, and address the people of Blackwood and the business owners on B-C Road. Take a few minutes away from one of your “Friends and Family” barbeques to explain to us how this is all working to our good. We’re all waiting although I really don’t expect to see you. You don’t answer emails or return phone calls, why would anyone think you would address the real issues in town that matter to taxpayers?
I hope to see you all on November 5th at the polls and don’t forget to VOTE Gloucester Township FIRST – Brown, DiBartolo, Kline and Pauli.
Visit us at: http://www.gloucestertownshipfirst.com. You can see our campaign pledge to the residents of Gloucester Township.
