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The city wants feedback on a potential pilot program that would install the cameras at three to five high-crash intersections.
A pilot program to test intersection safety cameras is taking shape in Eugene.
The city’s Public Works Engineering team is considering placing the cameras at three to five intersections to reduce dangerous traffic behavior. Staff have not yet identified funding or picked a launch date for the initiative, according to a Wednesday, Nov. 3, news release.
Often called red-light cameras or speed-safety cameras, the technology works like this: Radar and lidar sensors stationed ahead of intersections measure a vehicle’s size, speed and position.
In the case of drivers who violate traffic signals or go 11 mph or more over the speed limit, the sensors will prompt a camera placed farther ahead to turn on and capture photos and videos of a traffic violation to “assist in issuing citations,” an FAQ included with a city news release states.
The city has long considered introducing red-light cameras to Eugene. Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner mentioned the idea to the Police Commission in June 2025, and city leaders brought it up again at a June 2026 City Council meeting.
Councilors will discuss the proposal again at a Nov. 18 work session. The city also wants the public to fill out a survey to weigh in.
Between 2020 and 2024, drivers running red lights and speeding contributed to 81 fatal and serious injury crashes, per city data. The city will likely install the cameras along Eugene’s high crash corridors and intersections. Staff are studying crash history, red-light running data, speeding numbers and community complaints as part of placement decisions.
“We believe that intersection safety cameras can help us reduce these dangerous driving behaviors,” Associate Transportation Planner Logan Telles said in a prerecorded interview that was included in the city’s press release.
The city will need to hire new staff in the Eugene Police Department and the Municipal Court to support the program, contract a vendor and confirm the technology complies with the citywide data privacy policy that is in the works.
Then, the city will work with the vendor to determine camera locations and move toward installation. Citations will begin after Public Works staff post permanent photo-enforcement warning signs and a 30-day warning notice period.
Cities in Oregon like Portland, Beaverton, Salem, Bend and Albany already use the cameras.
“This type of technology has long been allowed by state law, and there are well-defined regulations for how the technology can and can’t be used,” Telles said.
Running a red light in Oregon is a Class B traffic violation, which carries a base fine of $265.
In areas where the speed limit is under 65 mph, speeding by 11 to 20 mph is a Class C traffic violation, with a base fine of $165. Going 21 to 30 mph over the speed limit is Class B, with a base $265 fine. And speeding over 30 mph is a Class A violation carrying a $440 base fine.
City staff expect revenue from citations to cover the costs of the program, which include paying the vendor, as well as the police department and Municipal Court staff handling an increase in citations associated with the pilot.
“Our long-term goal is that this program would be cost-neutral to the city,” Telles said.
The city’s FAQ refers to the cameras as a way to hold drivers accountable for unsafe behaviors on the road with “enforcement resources stretched thin” at EPD.
Eugene has not yet specified how police will use the images and footage to issue citations, but in five Oregon cities that have adopted the technology, humans review each potential violation before issuing citations.
Data privacy has been a flashpoint in Eugene since the city introduced and swiftly retired its Flock Safety license-plate reader cameras last year following public outcry. One question in the public survey about the cameras asks residents to share their concerns about the technology, listing possible answers like data privacy, travel time impacts and the fairness and accuracy of tickets.
The city says it will develop the pilot program within a “broader lens of a robust citywide data privacy policy.” In June, staff aimed to complete initial work on that policy by the end of 2026.
Eugene’s FAQ also specifies that the intersection safety cameras do not include services similar to Flock cameras, and that “most cities” configure the cameras so that “they do not record all the time” — instead only turning on when the sensor spots a violation.
“Services like Flock use AI-powered surveillance cameras that read the license plate numbers of all passing cars to assist with criminal investigations; those cameras do not issue traffic citations,” the FAQ reads. “The proposed Intersection Safety Camera Program is exclusively focused on discouraging dangerous driving behaviors in support of Eugene’s Vision Zero goals.”
