HOUSTON – A majority of Houstonians support the use of red-light cameras to enforce traffic laws, according to an 11 News/KUHF-Houston Public Radio poll released Sunday.
Rice University’s Center for Civic Engagement conducted the poll, which surveyed 500 registered voters in the city of Houston earlier this month. It had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
Fifty-three percent of respondents said they would vote to allow the City of Houston to continue to use red-light cameras. Forty-two percent of those surveyed opposed the idea. The rest were undecided or refused to answer.
“This is a big departure from what we’ve seen in other parts of the country, particularly just up the road in College Station, where this went up in defeat,” said Prof. Bob Stein, 11 News’ political analyst.
The poll results come as supporters of the devices are gearing up for a legal fight. They filed a federal lawsuit last week that seeks to block a November vote on whether to ban the cameras.
City council put the proposal on the ballot last month.
