Athens-Clarke officials want to put up a new camera to catch red-light runners at what they say is one of the worst intersections in the county—Gaines School and Barnett Shoals roads.

Traffic engineers observed an average of five drivers running the red light at that intersection every time it changed, or 75 people during the two daily half-hour periods of heaviest traffic. "This is the most-run red light in Athens," Commissioner Andy Herod, who represents the Eastside, said at a meeting Thursday night. "In fact, as I was coming here today, two people ran the light right in front of me."

But THEY DON'T HAVE TO SELL THEIR BODIES TO THE NIGHT!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Anyway, police say they frequently observe red-light-runners at that intersection, but they don't have the manpower to issue tickets on a regular basis. That's where the camera comes in—when a car runs a red light, it takes a picture of the license plate, and an officer mails a $70 ticket to the car's owner. If the owner wasn't driving it, he can get out of the ticket by ratting out whoever was.

Cameras are already in place at the Broad Street-Hawthorne Avenue-Alps Road and Lexington Road-Gaines School Road-Cherokee Road intersections, and they serve as a deterrent now that drivers know about them. In fact, ACC is removing the latter camera because citations are down to 59 through May of this year from 2,000 in 2006.

Commissioners Doug Lowry and Ed Robinson also exchanged words Thursday when Lowry voiced his support for a rezoning for a drive-through restaurant and convenience store at Atlanta Highway and Rockwood Boulevard, in Robinson's district. "This is not Mr. Lowry's district, and he doesn't know what he's talking about," Robinson said, interrupting Lowry. Lowry made a reference to the raucous British parliament, which drew a chuckle from Herod, a transplanted Englishman.

Residents near the development "don't want a Quickie Mart with its lights blaring into their backyard after midnight," Robinson said, but he apologized for snapping at Lowry. "I apologize for my complete lack of social grace," he said.