The Denver Gazette contacted several municipalities to ask about the details of their programs.

After more than a dozen open records requests, data obtained provides quick snapshot of how photo-driven technology is used across the metro area.

COMMERCE CITY

Most dangerous intersection

First deployed: 2010

Vendor: Verra Mobility

Number of units: Three units, all located in one intersection

Annual program budget: $58,200

Number of officers assigned: Three traffic officers and five part-time patrol officers

Citations detected in 2023: 46,146

Citations issued in 2023: 166,995

Citations unreadable: 143, over/underexposed, otherwise unusable

Citations paid in 2023: 11,363

Citations returned for bad address/occupant moved: 1,199

Total program revenue 2023: $852,225

Where does revenue go? General Fund

Location: The intersection of East 60th Avenue and U.S. 85 – one of the most dangerous intersections in the city.

DENVER

First deployed, biggest budget

First deployed: 1998

Vendor: Vera Mobility

Number of units: For fixed red-light units, and two speed vans

Annual program budget: $3.2 million (2024 budget)

Number of officers assigned: 17 FTE

Citations detected in 2023: 112,827 red-light incidents of possible violations were detected.

Citations issued in 2023: 71,596 red-light citations

Citations unreadable: 30,793 red-light incidents of possible violations were rejected due to “uncontrollable conditions” (weather conditions, externally blocked, etc.)

Citations paid in 2023: 43,920 red-light citations

Citations returned: 3,818 red-light citations

Total revenue 2023: In 2023, motorists paid approximately $7.4 million in fines.

Where does revenue go?: General Fund

Locations: Eastbound 6th Avenue and Kalamath Street, Eastbound 6th Avenue and Lincoln Street, Westbound 8th Avenue and Speer Boulevard, Northbound 36th Avenue and Quebec Street

GOLDEN

Most mobile 

First deployed: 2024

Vendor: Verra Mobility

Number of units: 1

Annual program budget: $85,000/yr not including employee salary

Number of officers assigned: Eight

Citations issued in 2023: n/a

Citations unreadable: n/a

Citations paid in 2023: n/a

Citations returned: n/a

Citations contested: n/a

Total revenue 2023: n/a

Where does revenue go? General Fund

Location: All Photo RADAR speed enforcement in the city is conducted from a manned, vehicle-based system.

GREENWOOD VILLAGE

Most likely to start a fight on social media

First deployed: 2005

Vendor: Verra Mobility

Number of units: Red-light 3

Annual program budget: $1 million

Number of officers assigned: The Greenwood Village Police Department employs one part-time employee to verify and validate all citations.

Citations detected in 2023: 67,408

Citations issued in 2023: 20,020

Citations unreadable:47,386 were not mailed due to multiple reasons (non-controllable exceptions 12,758, Police review exceptions 15,477, non-event exceptions 16,469, controllable exceptions-camera system 2682)

Citations paid in 2023: 12,789

Citations returned: 1,186

Citations contested: n/a

Total revenue 2023: $910,863

Where does revenue go?

The revenue goes into a restricted fund in the City’s general fund that is used only for traffic safety-related projects.

Location: The intersections of Orchard Road and Quebec Street; Belleview Avenue and Quebec Street; and Yosemite Street and Arapahoe Road.

LONE TREE

One camera, only monitors turn lanes

First deployed: 2008

Vendor: Axis Mobility

Number of units: Lone Tree has one (1) photo red light camera

Annual program budget: $59,880 is dedicated to the program that is paid to the vendor to manage the system. This number does not include a portion of officer salaries/time dedicated to the program.

Number of officers assigned: There are three patrol officers assigned to the program and each dedicates a few hours a week to photo red light duties.

Citations issued in 2023: 6,409 violations

Citations unreadable:1,812

Citations paid in 2023: 3,535

Citations returned: Unknown

Total revenue 2023: In 2023, the city generated $246,850. After deducting expenditures of $59,880, the city had a net revenue of $186,970.

Where does revenue go? Any funding received from photo red light violations is sent to the general fund for the necessary programs and services provided to the community, including police services, to keep the community safe.

Location: The intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Park Meadows Drive. The camera monitors only the turn lanes from southbound Park Meadows Drive to eastbound Lincoln Avenue; it does not monitor the entire intersection.

MORRISON

Newest and most notorious

First deployed: May of 2024

Vendor: Traffic Logix

Number of units: 1 automated speed camera unit

Annual program budget: Unite purchase in 2023. No annual budget.

Number of officers assigned: No Morrison FTE assigned. Everything is handled by the third-party vendor.

Citations issued in 2023: n/a

Citations unreadable: n/a

Citations paid in 2023: n/a

Citations returned: n/a

Citations contested: n/a

Total revenue 2023: n/a

Where does revenue go? General Fund

Location: Highway 8, Bear Creek Avenue