Bend drivers caught on camera speeding or driving through red lights could soon have citations mailed to their doorsteps.

That’s due to new cameras Bend police are now seeking to place near and at intersections throughout the city, part of an automated traffic enforcement program Chief Mike Krantz presented before the city council on Wednesday.

The council gave the department its approval to kick-start the program and issue a request for proposal to companies.

“It’s motivated by safety,” Krantz said of the program during the council meeting. “That we want to change the behavior around traffic problems that are occurring that causes severe damage and harm in our community.”

Police have yet to determine where the cameras will go. Spokeswoman Sheila Miller said the department will conduct studies around proper placement once a company is selected to do the work.

Bend police aim for there to be no outlay cost to the city, Miller said, adding the department will include in its request for proposal “a requirement that there would be no charge for equipment, permitting, construction or any other installation and infrastructure.”

The traffic citations would fund the program and its full-time staff, officials say.

To start the program, Krantz estimates the city would need the cameras positioned from at least five intersections and 10 locations near them. He also said the city would benefit from a mobile photo radar trailer to move around and catch speeding drivers in different areas, including residential areas and school zones.

City councilors have been vocally supportive of the program, noting its promise to improve safety on the roads.

“I do think we should continue to move forward towards implementation,” Mayor Melanie Kebler said in the meeting.

The cameras should be positioned in parts of the city with the most crashes, Krantz proposed. The department presented data at the council meeting that showed the following intersections had the most crashes from 2021 to 2023:

• Southeast Third Street and Southeast Reed Market Road reported 53 crashes.
• Cooley Road and North U.S. Highway 97 reported 41 crashes.
• Powers Road and U.S. Highway 97 reported 35 crashes.
• Northeast 27th Street and Northeast Highway 20 reported 33 crashes.
• Northeast Third Street and Northeast Revere Avenue reported 31 crashes.

Councilors voiced caution about the potential for

technological blips and insisted that the cost of the program should not be from the city’s pocket.

“This can’t be a tool to raise revenue,” said councilor Anthony Broadman, who supports the program.

Broadman said Thursday that the program has the potential to remove bias in policing traffic and make streets safer in a more cost effective way.

Like Krantz, he noted that the program is just one tool and can’t be a replacement for traditional policing.

“It’s not going to fix everything,” said Broadman, who added: “My hope is that this makes our roads safer and makes our police officers safer doing our job.”

Such programs have drawn the ire of critics in other parts of the country who say the tickets and fines they generate fall disproportionately on marginalized and low-income residents.

But Krantz said the program shows promise and pointed to the city of Tigard, which has had its own program since 2020.

In one year, Tigard issued 16,000 citations for red light violations and 6,000 for speeding, Krantz said. Meanwhile, the city also saw a “significant” reduction in crashes and more than 40% reduction in red light violations.

Officials acknowledged the need for a warning period before citations are issued. Krantz said this could be between 30 to 60 days.

“We want to make people aware of this,” Krantz said. “The goal isn’t to give people tickets, it’s to get people to stop doing that.”

Miller, the department spokeswoman, said Thursday that police have not yet determined when they will put out a request for a proposal.