The cameras - designed to catch both speeders and red-light runners on S.R. 79 - have caused an uproar in this Licking County city, especially after thousands of tickets arrived in violators' mailboxes during the past week, 10TV's Jeff Hogan reported.

The City of Heath could bring in $1 million in fines just in July, the first month of the cameras' operation.

Business owner Duane Goodwin gathered signatures for a petition to allow voters to decide whether to allow the traffic camera to operate. Goodwin told 10TV News that S.R. 79, a major commercial street in Heath, now has the reputation of being a speed trap and consumers are avoiding the area.

"People are boycotting Heath," Goodwin said. "These are our customers coming here to spend money."

Mayor Richard Waugh said the installation of the cameras came after a survey last year found residents were in favor of traffic enforcement cameras by a 2-1 margin.

"No one can deny that there's a problem with speeding when you have 8,000 violations in three weeks," Waugh told 10TV News.

Waugh said the city will abide by the decision of voters in the November election.

Watch 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for additional information.

©2009 by 10TV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.