Nearly a year after the Bastrop City Council approved funding for the installation of traffic cameras at two busy intersections on Texas 71, the systems intended to deter the running of red lights are finally going online.

The city had previously contracted with American Traffic Solutions to install cameras to monitor the eastbound lanes at the intersection of Texas 95 and Texas 71 and the westbound lanes at Texas 71 and Tahitian Drive. The council voted at its Tuesday meeting to approve the recommendation of the Automated Red Light Advisory Committee and install additional red light cameras in the opposite lanes of those intersections. The action also authorized the use of the cameras that had already been put into place.

The cameras went online Thursday for what chief of police Michael Blake called “a familiarity period” for drivers and the community to become accustomed to the system. During the 30 days from Dec. 15 through Jan. 14, warning letters will be sent out to violators rather than citations. Once the warning period is over, citations and their corresponding fines will be mailed instead.

“We wish to change driver behavior and increase driver awareness in Bastrop and make sure people driving through the city know that ‘red means stop,’” Blake said.

The cameras, assistant police chief Matt Wagner told the council, will improve safety at those intersections, where the high speed limits on the highway can lead to dangerous crashes when traffic laws are not abided. Texas had the second-most fatalities of any state caused by running red lights in 2009.

The cameras photograph vehicles and their license plate numbers after a violation. One camera photographs vehicles both before the violation and within the intersection , while a video camera takes 10 to 12 seconds of footage of the vehicle moving through the intersection. All images are then reviewed by a Bastrop police officer before any citation is written.

The Bastrop and Elgin police departments underwent training with the company that builds and installs the cameras earlier this month in Bastrop, said chief of police Michael Blake. ATR representatives walked officers through the system’s operation and use. Later sessions will instruct judges, prosecutors and others in the court system about the use of the cameras.

Fifty percent of the $75 fine go toward city traffic safety programs, while the other 50 percent help fund emergency trauma centers throughout the state.