Edmonds approves trial run of red-light cameras

Published 9:37 pm Friday, September 19, 2008

EDMONDS — First they were in Seattle, then Lynnwood, then almost everywhere — Issaquah, Puyallup, Spokane — and now red-light cameras appear headed to Edmonds, at least on a trial basis.

The city approved this week the installation of trial cameras at three busy intersections in south Edmonds.

The intersections are at Highway 99 at 220th Street SW, Highway 99 at 238th Street SW and Edmonds Way at 100th Avenue W.

If the city ultimately installs the cameras, red-light violators would be subject to $124 fines.

There need to be 1.2 violations daily in each direction to justify permanent cameras, Assistant Police Chief Gerry Gannon said.

The trial will take place within the next month, officials said.

It could be 2009 before permanent cameras are installed, Gannon added.

Advocates believe the cameras increase safety at dangerous intersections.

“If you have a crash in the middle of an intersection, it is usually because somebody was not paying attention to the traffic signal,” Edmonds Police Chief Al Compaan said. “I don’t think there’s any question that at those intersections where cameras are installed, people are better at taking the traffic signals seriously.”

Each of the intersections getting a camera in Edmonds has averaged about one right-angle collision a year, said Bertrand Hauss, a traffic engineer with the city.

They get crowded during rush hour, and drivers push the limits, Hauss told the council’s public safety committee in August.

“There are probably a lot of near-misses at those intersections that we don’t even know about,” he said.

Not everybody is in favor of the cameras. For instance, some believe the cameras are used to help cities increase revenue.

Lynnwood, for example, raised $1.1 million in red-light violations in the first six months after it installed 12 cameras last summer. Seattle also has raised millions in violations revenue.

That isn’t Edmonds’ priority, council member Deanna Dawson said.

Some nearby cities, including Mill Creek and Mountlake Terrace, have considered the cameras, but found they didn’t want them, or that drivers didn’t run enough red lights. That could happen in Edmonds, too.

“Going through the survey is an important thing to do,” Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson said in August. “We may actually find out that we do not have a problem.”

In Edmonds, the test cameras would be installed and monitored by American Traffic Solutions, the same company that has installed cameras in Lynnwood.

If an intersection warrants a permanent camera, the city would have to approve the final installation, but ATS would install and monitor it for free.

ATS’ fee is more than $4,000 per camera, but the company takes that money from collected violations, and promises the city will never have to pay out of pocket, said Bill Kroske, the company’s vice president of business development.

Reporter Chris Fyall: 425-673-6525 or cfyall@heraldnet.com.