Speed through an intersection or run a red light in Bend and there could be a new way to get caught in the new year.

The city has plans for automated cameras to photograph offenders. Violators will be sent citations in the mail.

The city may put out a request for vendors to provide those services as soon as Jan. 2. Bend City Councilors may approve a contract in April, if all goes well.

The city’s request is for two things. It wants a vendor to study and identify the best intersections for the cameras. Then it would provide a system of maybe five fixed red light/speeding cameras and one mobile camera that could be positioned temporarily at various locations. The mobile camera would be used for capturing photos of speeders.

The Bend Police Department had some 1,600 calls for service for crashes in 2024. About 42% of those were at intersections.

We can’t speak for you, but we make a habit of pausing a moment and looking when we are at an intersection and the light turns green. We have seen too many people trying to race through a light when it has turned red.

The cameras would snap pictures and the license plate would be matched with an owner. A police officer would be required to verify that the driver in the photo matches the registered owner before a citation is issued.

Imperfect? Yes.

Will some people challenge the citation? Of course.

Will some people start wearing masks when they drive? Maybe. We imagine Bend police might do some not-automated investigating if somebody was trying to repeatedly violate the law and escape by wearing a mask.

Will this move help reduce speeding and running red lights? We hope so.

There is a requirement that all intersections with such photo enforcement be marked with signs. At the fixed locations, Bend residents may eventually be extra careful near those intersections. Not such a bad outcome.

The plan is that the program be revenue neutral. If it generates additional revenue beyond supporting itself, that money would go into a fund for traffic safety, Sheila Miller, the communications manager for Bend Police told us. That could be used for more automated cameras or other traffic safety projects.

We would like to see the police department give the Bend City Council a report on how well the program is working after a year. But we think it’s a good idea for Bend to try it out. You can email Bend City councilors what you think at council@bendoregon.gov.