VISTA Heads up, Vista motorists: The City Council opted Tuesday night to keep Vista's red-light cameras up and running for at least two more years.

The council's 4-1 vote extends for two years the citys contract with Phoenix-based Redflex Traffic Systems, which runs the camera program. It also gives the city manager the option of renewing the contract through 2018 without running it by the council.

The cameras, which snap photos of drivers who run or fail to stop completely at red lights, have been controversial in some communities, and a number of cities in the region have pulled them in recent years.

Some critics have argued the cameras are a privacy violation; others have said the devices aren't effective in reducing crashes or improving safety.

In Vista, there has been no strong outcry against the devices. City Councilwoman Amanda Rigby cast the sole no vote Tuesday against keeping the cameras. After the meeting, she said she questions their value.

The benefits of the red-light cameras were not adequately presented tonight, she said.

Other council members cited fewer collisions among their reasons for supporting the continued use of the cameras.

Councilman Dave Cowles said he had seen "numerous and excessive" attempts by motorists to beat the lights. "I don't see that anymore," Cowles said.

He also said he had questioned keeping the cameras -- until he saw the citys statistics showing a decline in crashes at Vista intersections with the devices.

City staffers, who recommended extending the camera contract, said crashes have been cut by more than half at the five intersections where the cameras have been installed for the past 10 years.

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Vista votes to keep red-light cameras