Edmonds considers expanding school zone camera enforcement to 24 hours

Published 1:30 am Thursday, August 13, 2026

EVERETT — The Edmonds City Council began to consider Tuesday a proposal to extend the city’s school zone speed camera operations to 24 hours.

In 2023, the city began using five Verra Mobility cameras for speed enforcement at four schools. Currently, the cameras operate for 90 minutes per day, 45 minutes during drop-off and 45 minutes during pick-up.

The proposed ordinance would create a $144 fine for any vehicle traveling at least 7 mph over the speed limit. It would also create two tiers of violations for drop-off and pick-up times. Vehicles traveling between 6 to 10 mph over the speed limit would be fined $200, while those traveling at least 11 mph over the speed limit would be fined $290.

Since the city implemented the school zone enforcement program, violations have dropped by at least 50%, Transportation Engineer Bertrand Hauss said.

On Tuesday, city staff presented data from a two-week study conducted earlier this summer at each of the four schools. The number of potential violations — or vehicles traveling at least 7 mph over the speed limit — ranged from 2,223 near Westgate Elementary School to 5,303 near Edmonds-Woodway High School.

At least two other Washington cities — Kenmore and Lake Forest Park — also have 24-hour school zone cameras.

City staff first brought the idea of extending the cameras’ hours to the council during a special budget meeting in July, according to the council agenda memo. At the meeting, city staff said the change could generate about $1 million in revenue for the city in 2027.

On Tuesday, Mayor Mike Rosen said the discussion was about safety, not the budget.

“You aren’t going to hear the word ‘dollars,’” Rosen said at the beginning of the discussion. “This is about data and speed and safety and children and families and pedestrians.”

Besides the cost of administering the program, additional revenue would need to go toward traffic safety purposes, City Attorney Jeff Taraday said. After four years, the city would be required to share 25% of the revenue with the state, he added.

If the council were to approve the expansion, there would be a 30-day warning period before drivers receive fines, City Administrator Stephanie Lucash said.

Most council members spoke in favor of extending the camera hours.

“There’s a lot of uses for our public schools beyond those bell times,” council member Erika Barnett said. “So I really do think that enforcing the overall speed limit all the time is important and will help with safety.”

Council President Pro Tem Jenna Nand said she was against the change.

“I continue to be concerned about any revenue generation that we are seeking to do as a council that involves regressive taxes, fines or fees because we are in a cost of living crisis in our region, and a lot of people are paycheck to paycheck,” Nand said.

The Edmonds Municipal Court has a financial declaration process for people who may not be able to pay a traffic fine.

“When I met with the judge, we talked at length about the lengths that this court goes to to ensure that hardship cases are considered and handled with care and support for the person,” Lucash said.

Court Administrator Uneek Maylor and Police Chief Loi Dawkins said that both of their departments are operating with minimal staffing, but they could likely take on the extra work without needing to increase staffing.

“We will under-staff as much as we can just to make sure that we’ve hit our mark and are getting documents out the door, and then we will reach out if there’s problems,” Maylor said.

Some council members were in favor of revising the fine tiers for drop-off and pick-up times to match Redmond’s, which is $110 for 6 to 9 mph over, $220 for 10 to 14 mph over and $290 for 15 mph and over.

“I do think it’s just a little softer on that very front end, and still you’re not going to want to have repeated instances,” council member Vivian Olson said.

The council will continue discussing the proposal at a special council meeting Aug. 18.

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.