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In an email sent to a community listserv on Wednesday afternoon, Wil Manlapaz, the Metropolitan Police Department’s Fourth District commander, writes that D.C. police won’t enforce some intersection cameras during the evening rush hour as a result of Metrorail’s closure.
“Due to the closure of METRO, MPD will have traffic officers directing traffic at various intersections throughout the city beginning at 3:00 P.M. and lasting until rush hour has subsided,” Manlapaz wrote. “Camera enforcement at the intersections will be suspended. If you don’t have to come out during rushing hour, please stay in to avoid added congestion. Additionally, please do not park your car in violation of the rush hour restrictions.”
In a subsequent email, MPD Chief Cathy Lanier clarified: “To be clear on enforcement – no red light citations will be issued at intersections with traffic control officers that are pulling cars through the light. This only applies to morning and evening rush-hour today.”
Lieutenant Sean Conboy, an MPD spokesperson, further clarified in a phone call with City Desk that the suspension of red-light camera enforcement exclusively applies to intersections where a police or District Department of Transportation officer is stationed to help direct the flow of traffic. While he couldn’t immediately specify how many intersections would have traffic officers this afternoon, he said they would mostly be “on major arterial routes.” Drivers shouldn’t worry about passing through red lights then having to pay a ticket when directed by an officer today, he added.
“The goal is to get people through the city safely, which includes pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicular traffic,” Conboy said.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery