Dear Friends:
I am writing with a sense of urgency. The general assembly is close to eliminating our ability to use red light cameras to manage speeding and increase the safety of our community. While some of us may debate the locations or use of red light cameras, I think we can all agree that our local government should be able to make these decisions, not Richmond. Our delegates are working hard to resurrect this bill. We can help them. Below please find a letter I sent to the Speaker of the House of Delegates. The next step is in his hands. If you have the time and are so inclined, I encourage you to send Speaker Howell an e-mail of your own asking him to help us. Please be sure to copy our local delegation on your message.
Thank you for your help with this.
(If you would like to be removed or added to my e-mail list, please send a note with remove or add to newsletter@krupicka.com)
Best Regards,
Rob Krupicka
Speaker Howell's e-mail: Del_Howell@house.state.va.us
Delegate Moran's e-mail: del_moran@house.state.va.us
Delegate Ebbin's e-mail: del_Ebbin@house.state.va.us
Senator Saslaw's e-mail: district35@sov.state.va.us
Senator Ticer's e-mail: district30@sov.state.va.us
My Letter to Speaker Howell:
Dear Speaker Howell;
I am writing to ask for your consideration of the reinstatement of the red light camera legislation for Virginia. I recognize your past positions have not supported this program. I understand and respect your efforts to balance freedom and responsibility. I also know that you respect the residents of our great Commonwealth.
In Alexandria, traffic is one of our top resident concerns. We are a city of many unique neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods are literally being driven over due to the congestion and growth of Northern Virginia. The result is that children do not walk to school and families are afraid to take walks through their own neighborhoods. As we try to manage our way through the congestion and growth, we are working to create a community where children do feel safe walking to school and families can take nice leisurely walks after work and on weekends.
While the General Assembly grapples with transportation funding, the quality of life of Alexandria families suffers. These families, children and individuals deserve their freedom to walk safely in their own neighborhood. They deserve the freedom to enjoy their life and not fear that a car driving too fast will ignore a red-light and perhaps hit somebody trying to cross the street. They deserve the right to know cars are driving the speed limit through their neighborhood.
I suppose Alexandria could just add more police to our already excellent police force, and we may need to whether or not red-light camera laws are passed. But that will put additional pressure on our homeowners and their property taxes at a time when we are trying hard to reduce those burdens, not increase them. Red light cameras are cost effective, efficient and they work. Even if they don't make sense for every community, shouldn't our community be able to decide the best way to create safe and peaceful neighborhoods? Isn't that freedom more important than the freedoms you are protecting through the elimination of the red-light camera laws?
I know you don't often have reason to support requests from Alexandria. There is much work for all of us to do to learn from and listen to each other. Nobody from outside our region seems to understand our traffic problems or our housing problems. I am sure people in Northern Virginia often fail to understand the needs of the rest of the Commonwealth.
The red light camera law is important to my community. It is important to our sense of freedom and our quality of life. People don't have and should not have the right to run red lights. People should have the right to walk safely in their own neighborhood.
Thank you for the work you do for Virginia. I appreciate and respect your dedication to our great Commonwealth. I also thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely
Rob Krupicka
Member, Alexandria, VA City Council
2:33:50 PM 
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Wednesday, February 23, 2005
