Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

MIDDLETOWN MULLING TRAFFIC CAMS

mtown-red-lightThe town intends to install three to five red light cameras. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Drivers in Middletown might start thinking twice before speeding up to catch the yellow light before it goes red.

After receiving proposals from several vendors, the township is considering installing traffic light cameras to nab drivers running red lights.

The cameras could be installed by the end of this year, Administrator Anthony Mercantante said. The question is where?

The town received proposals for cameras – which capture an image of a car and its license plate if it runs a red light – a few years ago, he said. But officials were skeptical that pitch amounted to little more than a way for the town to get money by writing tickets.

Since then, traffic and safety data have been gathered to support installation, Mercantante said.

While the images would be reviewed by the police department to issue tickets ($85) for running the light, Mercantante said the cameras also have the potential to enhance safety at intersections, because drivers will be aware that if they go through the red, they’ll be caught on camera.

“There’s tremendous data that shows very, very dramatic reductions in motor vehicle accidents at intersections” with cameras, he said. “The improved safety factor is significant. That’s really what we’re looking for.”

Mercantante said the town will likely install three to five of the cameras, which are affixed to traffic lights and capture two still images, as well as video of the intersection. On the road leading to the light would be a sign that warns drivers of a camera ahead.

Town officials will submit a list of potential camera locations to the state Department of Transportation, which has the final say on whether the cameras can be installed, and where.

Besides the safety aspect, Mercantante said the cameras will likely cut down on contested traffic tickets, because the images will be available online for people to see clearly that they ran the light. That will in turn cut down on court and administration costs, he said.

Committeeman Gerry Scharfenberger raised concerns over potential faults to the system. If a car slightly rolls over the boundary that triggers the camera to snap a pic, he worried that a driver would unduly be ticketed. That won’t be the case, Mercantante said, because police will, like a traffic stop, have discretion on the issuance of a ticket.

Scharfenberger also worried that if a driver made a sudden stop at a light to avoid running a red, it could cause an accident with vehicles behind it.

“Yes, there are some rear-end accidents,” Mercantante replied. “But it’s a lot better than getting t-boned at an intersection.”

Mercantante said the town will continue to meet with contractors he said would install the cameras for free, and take a percentage of ticket revenues. The state and town would split the remaining revenues, he said.

If the township committee approves the installation of the cameras, they could be functional by the end of the year, he said.

Middletown is among a handful of Monmouth County towns exploring the option to install the cameras. Neptune and Ocean have both expressed interest in the last couple months. Last year, Brick Township in Ocean County was one of a dozen municipalities to have the cameras put in as part of a DOT pilot program.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION
Performers at Red Bank’s Juneteenth community celebration Sunday at Johnny Jazz Park. (photo by Brian Donohue)      
BUTTERFLIES LOVE THE WEED
Save the monarch, plant butterfly weed. (photo and text by Partyline contributor Roseann DalPra)  
LANTERNFLY PARTY
An invasive ailanthus tree sprouting in front of the US Post Office on Broad Street is covered with invasive spotted lantern fly nymphs Wedn ...
STREETCORNER SERENADE
An Irish doodle named Cheddar listens to native New Jerseyan, singer/songwriter and former Houston resident Tom Foti, (identified in the hea ...
Red Bank 5K Fun!!!
Red Bank Classic – June 14th, 2025 (photo by Partyline contributor Adam Kaplan)  
RAINBOW OVER RED BANK
Saturday, before and after the storm that rolled through town. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)    
Mini Ballers Bring the Heat at Fusion Basketball School
As the temperatures heat up, so does the competition in the mini baller clinic at Fusion School of Basketball. These little tykes are intens ...
DOZENS OF PLEIN AIR ARTISTS “PAINT RED BANK”
Plein air artists take over town for first ever "Paint Red Bank" event. (click to read)
RED BANK: SIGN ON ICONIC DANNY’S STEAK HOUSE COMES DOWN
The sign hanging from the shuttered Danny's Steak House comes down ten months after a manager reported Danny's Steakhouse would be back "bet ...
FOR YANKEES FANS, GOOD TRASH PICKIN’
A collection of framed photographs of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and other New York Yankees greats was placed curbside along with a ...
RED BANK: NEW HANDICAPPED PARKING, WEST SIDE MEETING PLANNED
New handicapped parking sign West Side advocate had pressed for is installed, with meeting planned to discuss other concerns. (click to read ...
SUNSET AT SUMMER’S START
Crazy sunset clouds shot from Monmouth Boat Club on the Friday evening at the start of Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer. ...
SIDEWALK GOES FROM WORST TO FIRST
P (photo by Brian Donohue) What had been, in our estimation – and apparently in the eyes of the several people who have emailed and te ...
RED BANK: PEERING FROM ON HIGH, ACROSS THE DECADES
Roofers on the Azalea Red Bank top off the project in the shadow of a sculpture depicting another generation of construction workers who toi ...
BRICK FACELIFT CONTINUES ON MONMOUTH STREET
A million-dollar brick sidwalk makeover of Monmouth Street in Red Bank continues.
JAY AND SILENT EAGLE
A very loud blue jay squawks at an indiferent bald eagle in a treetop alongside the Swimming River in Red Bank this week. (Partyline photo b ...
PIZZA LOVING SQUIRREL SPOTTED IN RED BANK
Pizza squirrel spotted in Red Bank. (click to read)
GET YOUR MA SOMETHIN’ NICE AT THE RED BANK FARMERS MARKET
It’s a beautiful and sunny Mother’s Day for the first instance of the farmer’s market, held every Sunday, beginning in May ...
SIGN? WHAT SIGN?
Folks in Red Bank Wednesday exercising their riparian rights to access tidal waters first encoded into Roman law in 500 AD and later adopted ...
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Partyline contributor captures photo of backyard fox.