Those cameras had kept an eye on key Auburn intersections rain or shine, ever since June 2006, clicking photos, making short video clips of red-light runners.

For those who ran afoul of the law, there were fines, even court dates.

Many praised the red-light photo enforcement system, and many loathed it, deriding it as government overreach and, at base, a ploy to fatten the City’s coffers.

But last week, Redflex Traffic Systems began removing all of its above-ground equipment in Auburn, starting at the intersection of Auburn Way South and 4th Street Southeast, at Harvey Road and 8th Street Northeast, and in the various school zones.

A contractor working for Redflex began removing as much equipment as possible last Friday and was to have completed the remainder of the removals on Monday and Tuesday of this week, said Dana Hinman, public affairs and marketing manager for the City of Auburn.

Hinman said that beginning Jan. 14, the contractor is to begin to remove the items that impact the City’s infrastructure — foundations, power services and the like. Puget Sound Energy will need up to a week to pull the electrical meters and disconnect overhead services to allow the contractor to complete these removals.

“Removal of wiring and the restoration of sidewalks and pavement is expected to start by the week of the 19th, and completion could be as early as the end of January but is weather dependent,” Hinman said.

It was the marked drop every year since the cameras went live in the number of infractions issued, that the system was no longer paying for itself, and the message it sent to out-of-town visitors that soured City leaders on its Arizona-based vendor and as it turned out, the system itself.

By a 4-3 vote, the City Council late last year said no to contracting with a new vendor, GATSO, Inc. of Maine. By so voting, and with no plans to re-up with Redflex, whose contract was up on Dec. 31, the vote effectively ended the eight-year-old red-light photo enforcement program.

The system first went live at several intersections on June 30, 2006. Over time the City added cameras to patrol speeds in school zones.