Cameras are for Safety!

Unless they can pull double duty - then all bets are off:

• Chicago alders are set to take up traffic enforcement and city borrowing rules during a City Council meeting Wednesday.

  Alders are expected to vote on the "Smart Streets Camera Enforcement Program," which would expand the use of automated cameras mounted on poles and CTA buses.

  The cameras would photograph vehicles blocking traffic lanes, meters and dedicated bike lanes. Those violations could lead to tickets being mailed to drivers.

  A double-parking violation could result in a $90 fine, even if a vehicle blocks a lane for only a minute. Blocking a dedicated bike lane could lead to a $250 fine.

We know they've had cameras on the street-sweepers for years now, ticketing cars that the sweepers are forced to drive around when cleaning the traffic lanes. We understand expanding that program to CTA buses to catch cars parked in bus stops.

But

• the almost completely useless bike lanes, 
• the near-impossibility of parking properly around those concrete barricades, 
• or business owners taking bottom-line hits when customers can't park within walking distance to the store...

that's got to be effecting tax collections at some level, far more than the parking ticket revenue.