D.C. to use traffic cameras to monitor problem intersections

D.C. traffic cameras will soon graduate from generating tickets for running red lights and speeding to snapping photos of drivers blocking intersections and rolling through stop signs — even as officials debate whether to lower fines from the cameras, which can reach $250.

The Metropolitan Police Department plans to install cameras at stop signs and crosswalks before the end of the year to catch drivers disregarding stop signs, crosswalks and intersections, as well as overweight trucks on small roads and trucks too high for some tunnels and bridges. The department will place between 16 and 24 cameras of each type across the city, said Lisa Sutter, who heads the Photo Enforcement Program for the MPD.