Public reaction means Vicksburg will not allow a private company to install cameras at two Vicksburg intersections to ticket motorists and collect civil fines, Mayor Laurence Leyens said Tuesday.

Leyens said negative feedback coupled with a lack of data to support the technology is the reason he will not pursue the cameras — which he and Vicksburg Police Deputy Chief Richard O’Bannon praised during a presentation by the vendor last week. Both said it would increase safety.

“I’m trying to collect more data at our intersections and then compare it with the data that comes out of Natchez,” Leyens said. “At this point we just don’t have enough data to support it.”

Natchez is the most recent municipality to give the green light to the red light cameras, while Tupelo, McComb and others in Mississippi are at least testing the technology. RedSpeed Mississippi proposed the idea to the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Nov. 17.

The cost of installing and maintaining the automated cameras, as well as the associated ticketing would be paid for by RedSpeed. Photos taken of violators running red lights and stop signs would be cross-referenced to a database of tag numbers and car owners would be billed by mail. The checks or money orders they send the company would be split 50-50 between the city and RedSpeed. The company had proposed operating cameras at the intersections of Mission 66 and Clay Street, and Pemberton Square Boulevard and Halls Ferry Road, to test the technology.

The cameras have raised criticism because the tickets issued by RedSpeed are not considered criminal offenses, as are those issued by law enforcement agencies. The offenses do not go on an offender’s driving record, and if those issued a ticket choose not to pay the fines the city would have to file a civil suit to collect the money.

“I’ve gotten a lot of negative feedback from people. If the public doesn’t support it and we’re supposed to represent the public’s opinion, then we ought to pull back from it,” said Leyens, who added the issue could come up again in a year or two when additional data is collected.

Headquartered in Lombard, Ill., RedSpeed USA was established in 2007 and has its cameras operating in many municipalities throughout the country. Its parent company, RedSpeed International, has contracts in the United Kingdom, Spain, South Africa, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and India. It is one of several companies worldwide that is in the business of ticketing drivers via cameras.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com.