Fraudulent study - and a thought...
As mentioned in a comment above me, while violations are down, safety is not.
Most of the money collected for the ticket fine does NOT go to the enclosing jurisdiction, but to the equipment vendor (and in California, to the State of California). When the tickets are contested, the jurisdiction {city/town/county} still has to go and prosecute you. It's a money losing proposition for the city (they may collect $80 of a $500 fine, and it costs almost that much to send an assistant city attorney to court "for something this silly"). Your fine will be the same if you lose the case, so it's definitely a persuasive tactic.
Also, if you simply write the merchants and cc the city mayor/city manager that you won't shop that particular locale because of these red light cameras (which are only installed within a mile of the concentrated merchant areas), you will have much more effect in getting those cameras taken down. It's happened in cities like Los Angeles... you would think that with such a car culture, the city could take advantage of a "target rich environment". But the numbers do not work - and they know it. Now - so do you.
