Go get ’em, Las Cruces

I don’t condone cities breaking state law, but there’s something appealing — to me, mind you — about Las Cruces, N.M. officials continuing to operate red-light cameras at intersections controlled by the state of New Mexico.

The New Mexico Transportation Commission voted recently to give cities two months to remove the cameras. Las Cruces isn’t budging, apparently. Good for the folks there!

Texas transportation regulators haven’t yet done such a thing here, which gives Amarillo the authority to operate the red-light cams if the city deems that running red lights poses a safety hazard for motorists.

I concur with the city’s assessment that, yes indeed, red-light runners are a menace. Therefore, the city has acted in an effort to deter the motorists from running the lights. Traffic engineers have placed the cams at six intersections around the city.

I’ll admit to one close call at the corner of I-40 West and Coulter. I was making a left turn once onto Coulter and got stopped in the middle of the intersection by traffic that had stalled in front of me. I made the turn while the light was turning from amber to red. I saw the camera light flash behind me, but the city must have caught the guy in back of me sneaking through the intersection. Good for me; bad for him.

It’s troubling that the state deems it necessary to govern how cities seek to control local traffic problems. If Amarillo City Hall determines it has a traffic safety issue to resolve — and it installs red-light cams to correct the problem within its corporate boundaries — then the city has the right to act on its own.

Therefore, I applaud Las Cruces City Hall.