Colorado State University’s Debate Club invited Fort Collins Mayor Emily Francis to campus on Wednesday to discuss the use of traffic cameras in the city.

The City of Fort Collins has used speeding cameras and red light cameras to enforce red light and speeding regulations since the 2023 passage of a state law that expanded the use of traffic cameras. Currently, there are traffic cameras deployed at six intersections in Fort Collins.

The debate about the use of these cameras took place between Debate Club president and founder Ray Hernandez and Francis. Hernandez took the position of being against the red light cameras, while Francis defended them.

The debate started with opening statements from both Hernandez and Francis. Hernandez began by saying he is against red light cameras because he believes they place the burden of proof on the individual for motor crimes and they impede drivers’ privacy.

“I’m taking the stance against red light cameras and traffic cameras in general because I believe they’re an invasion of privacy,” Hernandez said.

Francis responded to Hernandez’s opening statement, saying the cameras make Fort Collins’ roads safer, and weighed the skepticism of the cameras against evidence that may show they work.

“The question is not whether we’re comfortable questioning government — we should be,” Francis said. “The question is whether we’re willing to reject targeted, data-driven and limited tools that are designed to reduce deaths on the very roads that we drive on every day.”

Hernandez made a rebuttal to Francis’ statement by claiming there are more effective ways to get the same result the cameras have without risking government overreach. He said roundabouts may be more effective at curbing reckless behavior from drivers who may not notice if a traffic camera were in its place.

“It’s people who are going to break the law that are not paying attention, (and) it doesn’t really matter if there’s a red light camera there,” Hernandez said. “In the moment, it seems like the people who are going to be causing those deaths, the 40-miles-over-the-speed-limit drivers, are going to be careless drivers anyways. A camera is not going to stop that.”

Francis responded to Hernandez by emphasizing the need for technology to help with traffic enforcement. She followed up by saying the need for traffic cameras — as opposed to roundabouts — is to accommodate the high traffic that occupies Fort Collins daily.

“We’re facing reduced budgets at the local level, and we need tools that use technology to help enforce our laws because we don’t have enough money to pay more police officers to give out tickets,” Francis said.

The latter half of the debate opened the discussion up to questions from the audience. Hernandez and Francis responded to audience questions about the cost of the traffic cameras, the validity of Francis’ claims that the cameras reduce traffic deaths and the use of the data the traffic cameras collect.

After the audience panel, Hernandez and Francis gave their closing statements. Hernandez said he trusts the city of Fort Collins more with their use of the cameras but still has skepticism about similar technology.

“I feel a little bit more at ease seeing that Fort Collins is not using them in a predatory way, though that doesn’t remove the overall caution that we should have of what this can become and what it can mean in general,” Hernandez said.

Francis closed the debate by reiterating how the injuries and deaths the traffic cameras prevent make them worth their implementation.

“We, at the city, use speed and red light cameras because we want to make our roads safer,” Francis said. “Those 40 people who died and nearly 400 people who had serious injuries, in my mind, are worth having the cameras.”

The debate was part of a series of guest debates the club holds. The guest series invites people from around CSU and Fort Collins to argue a variety of topics. The club chose to debate Mayor Emily Francis due to the widespread community response to the traffic cameras.

“Who’s somebody that we all have in common?” Hernandez said. “One of those people is Mayor Francis. One of her strategic goals was to have an event for the greater Fort Collins community.”

Francis said she learned new perspectives from the debate and said she will take the students’ feedback to guide city policy in the future.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of forthcoming information about how data and information is being used,” Francis said. “In a world where information and data are rapidly changing, it’s important to be transparent and upfront with the public.”

Similar to Hernandez and Francis, audience members left with new perspectives on the issue of traffic cameras.

“I think the most compelling points were about the amount of traffic deaths that were in 2024 compared to now,” said Sophia Hyman, a CSU junior studying psychology. “I also think it’s just a matter of safety. When people know that they’re being watched, they’re going to be a little bit more careful.”