Voters will not have the chance to weigh in on the red light camera issue in November, it was learned today.
Murrieta has three red light cameras -- one at the intersection of Murrieta Hot Springs and Whitewood roads, one at Murrieta Hot Springs and Margarita road, and another at Clinton Keith Road and Nutmeg Street.
The ballot initiative that would have possibly banned the cameras was deemed illegal by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ottolia in a late ruling on Friday.
Read: Petition to ban red light cameras in Murrieta gaining speed
Citing flaws in the measure, the news was a certain blow to residents who oppose red light cameras and question the constitutionality of their use.
Murrieta resident Diana Serafin sought to ban the red light cameras and filed the initial petition to have the measure placed on November’s ballot, citing the expense of operation and a violation of civil rights.
Read: Murrieta City Council to decide future of red-light camera program
Resident Steve Flynn, who’d worked to put the cameras in place when he served as Public Safety and Traffic commissioner, sought to take the matter out of voters’ hands altogether with a lawsuit filed in June, asserting that matters of traffic regulation are a statewide concern.
Serafin, who’d collected signatures as a part of a grassroots effort to place the measure on the November ballot, said she was not able to offer a comment on the advice of her attorney Peter Lepiscopo.
Read: Murrieta residents weigh in on red light camera controversy
Murrieta has three red light cameras — one at the intersection of Murrieta Hot Springs and Whitewood roads, one at Murrieta Hot Springs and Margarita roads, and another at Clinton Keith Road and Nutmeg Street.
Kerri S. Mabee can be reached at kerri.mabee@swrnn.com. Follow me on Twitter @kerrimabee.
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