ORANGE PARK, Fla. — New numbers from the Orange Park Police Department show the town collected not only the most revenue from tickets given out through its red light cameras since they were installed, but the biggest two-year jump in revenue in 13 years.
The chief of the town’s police department told Action News Jax $1.89 million in revenue was generated by fines from red light camera violations between 2023 and 2024. Over the last year, the town said $2.16 million in revenue was made. This is almost double the amount of what the town previously estimated its 2023 - 2024 red light camera revenue to be, which was around $1.21 million.
The Town of Orange Park and the City of Green Cove Springs are the only two local governments in northeast Florida still using red light cameras. Some people living around Orange Park tell Action News Jax they believe the cameras are only a moneymaker for the town.
“I feel like I’m just giving them money. I’m giving it away,” said Uriel, a man we spoke with across the street from town hall, “if the town’s going to have them, then put them on every exit. But no, take them down. They’re just a hazard.”
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Others, like Charlotte Dushane, feel like tickets from the red light camera violations are too pricey for them to feel like they’re a worthwhile street safety measure.
“I got a ticket but didn’t run the light. I was stopped, but I got a ticket for it anyway,” Dushane said, “my ticket was over $200.”
The town’s website says all fines from red light camera violations are $158.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) collects crash and violation data from red light camera intersections around the state. The department’s latest report covers data between 2012 and 2024. It says that, before red light cameras were installed at these intersections, there were 17,093 total crashes reported. The FLHSMV said there were 18,615 crashes at these intersections after the red light cameras were installed.
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Some in Orange Park feel like, if anything, the cameras make driving less safe.
“If I slam on brakes right there to catch a light, I’ll cause an accident anyway. So yeah, they should be taken down,” said Uriel.
Neither the Town of Orange Park nor the City of Green Cove Springs have shared any plans or intentions to remove their red light cameras. The Town of Orange Park told Action News Jax more than half of the revenue generated from the cameras every year goes back to the state.
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