Red Light Camera Tickets Begin Tuesday in Falls Church

The City of Falls Church, our neighbors, have installed two red-light cameras and will begin imposing  $50 fines starting tomorrow.

Cameras were installed in the intersections of West Broad and Cherry streets and West Broad Street and Annandale Road. From Dec. 30-today, motorists caught running red lights received a warning,  City spokeswoman Barbara Gordon said. Those two intersections have been identified by the city as areas where people commonly run red lights.

That’s when the city will begin issuing tickets to motorists who get caught by a red-light camera as they go through a red light.  said between Dec. 30 and Jan. 18,

“All of the money from the red light camera tickets will go to the city’s general fund,” Gordon said in Friday during a telephone interview.

Run the red light at one of these two intersections and the camera takes your picture and your fine arrives  in the mail.

Chris Boyle, 24, of Merrifield, said the bright white flash in his rearview mirror scared him about two weeks ago as he rushed through the intersection of West Broad Street and Annandale Road. The light turned red before he got through the intersection and the cameras were activated. He said he was rushing to meet up with some friends and was already minutes late. He said he won’t rush through intersections now because there will be fines attached.

“It freaked me out when it happened,” Boyle said Friday afternoon outside a coffee shop near the West Broad Street and Annandale Road intersection. "It’s not worth getting a ticket or causing a serious accident.”