CREVE COEUR • In the wake of pending court decisions about the legality of red-light cameras around the region, Creve Coeur has repealed its ordinance that deals with the devices.
The council passed the repeal 6-0 in an emergency vote Tuesday night, with council members Ellen Lawrence and Charlotte D’Alfonso absent.
City Attorney Carl Lumley said the need for an emergency vote stemmed from public confusion regarding the cameras as various challenges make their way through the courts.
The cameras are the focus of lawsuits and electoral challenges across the region. The Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District has ruled that red-light camera laws in Arnold and Ellisville violated state law, and Ellisville voted to cancel its contract for the cameras in March. A court order invalidating St. Louis’ red-light camera ordinance is on hold pending the outcome of an appeal.
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Creve Coeur joined a host of other cities when it stopped issuing citations in December, the same time it voted to renew a three-year contract with American Traffic Solutions Inc., the company that provides the city’s traffic-camera services.
“I don’t believe that this reflects at all on the city’s lack of commitment to red-light automated enforcement,” said Mark Perkins, city administrator.
Perkins said the program has been successful in the past, and the city expects to bring another program forward once the laws surrounding the cameras are made clear by the courts.
