Twelve years after suspending the use of red-light cameras, Collier County plans to install blue lights at 20 high-crash intersections to help law-enforcement officers spot red-light runners quickly, and deter motorists from speeding as a light turns red.
The Board of County Commissioners, without discussion, unanimously voted on Nov. 12 to pay Southern Signal & Lighting Inc. $160,000 for the installation. The company, an existing county vendor from Pasco County, estimated it would cost $130,787.40, and the county added a 20% budget contingency to address unforeseen conditions.
The blue light at a traffic signal is designed to deter red-light runners, while making it easier for law-enforcement officers to accurately spot them as they drive through a red light. The blue lights turn on simultaneously with a red light, illuminating when the traffic signal turns red — allowing officers to monitor intersections more effectively from a distance.
The county is taking steps to lengthen the timing of lights and educate the public about red-light running following a Sept. 4 crash that killed a 47-year-old Naples woman and injured two children. A westbound tanker truck ran a red light at Immokalee Road and hit the woman’s SUV as she was turning left from Logan Boulevard, pushing it into another SUV.
That month, Commission Vice Chair Burt Saunders made a motion that passed unanimously to address traffic concerns: Add blue lights at dangerous intersections; add deputies to improve safety at problem intersections; and ask the county Productivity Committee to weigh costs and benefits of reintroducing red-light cameras at major intersections.
After the Nov. 12 vote, Saunders said the committee is leaning against using red-light cameras again, and also wants to evaluate the effectiveness of the blue lights.
In December 2012, commissioners voted 3-2 to end a red-light camera contract in February 2013 with American Traffic Solutions, which sent violators tickets and received a cut of money. The county had cameras at 19 areas approaching intersection signals and at 10 intersections. By law, red-light camera tickets provided millions to fund trauma centers statewide.
For the current project, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office identified 20 high-crash intersections where blue lights should be installed out of 233 intersections with traffic signals countywide. Logan Boulevard and Immokalee Road was among the intersections and was ranked last, with 59 crashes. Golden Gate Parkway and Santa Barbara Boulevard topped the list with 158 crashes from September 2022 through August 2024, followed by Vanderbilt Beach and Livingston roads, with 142. In all, there were 2,042 crashes at 20 intersections during that period.
