Encinitas traffic safety group seeks to re-establish red-light cameras

A new state law that makes it easier for cities to use cameras to catch red-light runners might help save pedestrians’ lives in Encinitas, a group formed in the wake of 12-year-old Emery Chalekian’s death is arguing.

Members of Safe Streets Encinitas made their case to the city’s Mobility & Traffic Safety Commission last week, and commissioners agreed to ask the City Council to look into their proposal. The commission’s vote was 5-1, with Commissioner Ron Medak opposed.

Before the vote, commissioners heard from nine public speakers, including Emery’s mother.

“Prevent the next family from standing where I stand today,” Bridget Chalekian said as she discussed her daughter’s death.

Emery, a sixth-grader at Park Dale Lane Elementary School, was struck and killed by a vehicle last spring while using the crosswalk at Encinitas Boulevard and Village Square Drive to go between her dance class and a hamburger restaurant. The driver, who is alleged to have run a red light, currently is facing vehicular manslaughter charges.

Stressing that Emery “did everything right” and followed the law, her mom said that putting in red light cameras could “change driver behavior and that is what we need.”

The intersection where Emery was killed is a block east of Encinitas Boulevard’s intersection with El Camino Real — a place where the city once had red light cameras. The City Council voted to remove those cameras in 2020 during the early months of th...