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It's still not clear if Albuquerque's controversial red-light camera program has improved traffic safety, but the city should keep it going until it has the data it needs, a task force appointed to study the issue has found.

In the meantime, the task force recommended lowering fines for red-light runners nabbed by the cameras, eliminating escalating fines for repeat offenses and performing regular independent reviews of the program.

The task force, appointed by Mayor Martin Chavez in November, concluded that the cameras have good potential to make intersections safer, said Ted Shogry, a city staff member for the task force.

"They think the program needs more consistent analysis over time," Shogry said. "There are a lot of misconceptions about this program. They strongly encouraged statistical experts and people with analytical skills to evaluate the program."

Critics have blasted the program as a moneymaker for the city, saying the cameras aren't reliable and that they might actually contribute to crashes as drivers try to avoid a citation.

The task force's recommendations include:

* Lowering fines for a first offense fines from $100 to $69, the cost of a ticket and fees issued by an officer for running a red light.

• Creating an option for low-income violators to pay in installments.

• Keeping fines the same for repeat offenses.

• Conducting regular independent reviews of the program.

• Directing revenues from the program to traffic safety and to educating the public about the program. A reserve should be kept, as the task force anticipated lower revenues from the cameras as people change their driving behavior.

• Renegotiating the contract with Red Flex, the company that runs the cameras, so the company is not paid a percentage of fines. Under the current system, the company is paid through fixed fees, as well as a portion based on citations and fines issued.

* Conducting an immediate assessment of the hearing process for people who dispute the tickets, along with periodic reviews.

• Reviewing the placement of the cameras. Although most of the cameras were placed at the city's most dangerous intersections, some intersections have produced low numbers of violations.

The cameras at Montgomery and Carlisle boulevards Northeast produce about 25 percent of the program's total violations.

• Creating technical standards for where to place the cameras, which would determine all future decisions to install or remove cameras.

As long as the city does a good job meeting the recommendations, the cameras should be kept in place until the end of 2009, the task force found.

If future evaluations are satisfactory, the task force said, the program should continue into the next decade.

Chavez said he was impressed with the task force's report, and would push for legislation to enact each recommendation.

"There's not a single recommendation I wouldn't like to see put in place," he said this morning. "It was very thoughtful."

Councilor Ken Sanchez has already proposed legislation that would lower fines from the cameras.

The task force was charged with evaluating how effective the program was at making streets safer, but there was not enough data to do so, Shogry said.

Members looked at data from the first four intersections to get red light cameras, installed in 2005, and found the results "modestly encouraging," Shogry said.

Data presented to the panel showed that accidents at four intersections had decreased after the cameras were installed, but rear-end accidents had increased at one of the four.

As part of the program started in 2005, there are 20 intersections with red-light cameras. The program has generated more than $10 million from more than 162,000 citations.