KISSIMMEE, Fla. – A new red-light camera will begin working Thursday in Osceola County, monitoring the intersection of Pleasant Hill Road and South Orange Blossom Trail.
However, drivers running a red light at the intersection over the next 30 days will only get a warning, not a fine. The camera is one of five new ones that will go online before the end of September.
Last January, the Osceola County Commission approved red-light cameras to go up at 10 different intersections. Of all the cameras, drivers who spoke with Local 6 say the Pleasant Hill Road-South Orange Blossom Trail camera is needed the most.
"It's a mess. This is a really bad intersection," said Brooke Thompson.
Thompson is among more than a dozen drivers to tell Local 6 how dangerous and how bad the traffic backs up.
"There's a lot of congestion. A lot of people run the red lights," said Thompson.
For these reasons, many drivers say they approve of the cameras being put up.
"I think it's a good idea so people know they're being watched, and maybe it will control a little bit more the traffic and congestion and the crossings of the red lights," said Amaryllis Steven.
After 30 days, drivers who run the red light will be mailed a $158 fine.
While most people who go through the area daily believe the cameras will help, some think it could cause more of a mess and more accidents as people slam on their breaks when the light turns yellow.
"It's a good idea in some places where there's not so much traffic and right here there's too much, and it's already a mess," said Steve Nugent.
Osceola County says the money that comes in from red-light tickets is going to public safety. A county representative could not elaborate, but says it's being used to improve things at the the intersections the cameras monitor.
The cameras were scheduled to go online Wednesday, but an issue regarding permitting with the Florida Department of Transportation delayed it a day.