ENCINITAS, Calif. (KGTV) – Next Wednesday, the City of Encinitas is set to decide if it will instruct staff to continue looking into a pilot program for red light cameras.
“We’re very thankful that this conversation is continuing. It’s a huge conversation to have: red light runners add a huge risk to our roads,” Mike Dobransky, a founding member of Safe Streets Encinitas, said.
Mike Dobranksy’s a founder of Safe Streets Encinitas.
ABC 10News has covered the organization’s mission to get a pilot program for red light cameras off the ground following the death of 12-year-old Emery Chalekain in 2025.
“Obviously, with this being the cause of the crash that killed Emery, we’re very much behind it,” Dobranksy said.
The push comes after a 2026 state law that greenlit communities to be able to implement red light camera systems different from the system discontinued in 2020, featuring lower citations and a focus on license plate readers rather than facial recognition.
“We’re just very thankful that this conversation’s continued; we’re excited to see it on the agenda,” Dobranksy said. “The staff wrote a fantastic report about the previous red light program and the safety outcomes that were involved in that.”
A city staff report says that, in a 2018 report, red light crashes at one of the two previous red light camera intersections in Encinitas were reduced from two a year to less than half a year. Staff also say there are plenty of steps that would need to happen before the cameras would go up.
Dobranksy understands things could take time, but moving forward is what’s important.
“I don’t see any reason that we would not continue the conversation and do research to see if we can use this as a tool to make our streets safer,” Dobransky said.
