EVERETT — The Everett City Council on Wednesday voted 6-1 to approve a new ordinance allowing red-light cameras.
Council members are expected in the near future to vote on whether to install cameras at six busy intersections around the city. They might also have cameras placed in two school zones to catch speeders.
“This is a huge public safety issue,” Councilman Paul Roberts said before voting in favor of the ordinance.
The new city ordinance states that its main goal is to improve safety.
In addition to red-light cameras, the ordinance would allow for the installation of cameras to catch speeders in school zones and people who fail to stop at railroad crossings.
Any red-light cameras installed would be placed in areas with both relatively high rates of T-bone accidents and red-light violations, said Ryan Sass, Everett’s city engineer.
Under the ordinance, the registered owner of a car caught on camera running a red light would be mailed a $124 ticket. Because the cameras could not legally take images of a driver’s face, violations are treated as parking tickets on a vehicle’s record, not moving violation that are placed on a driver’s record.
Councilman Mark Olson voted against the measure, saying he is concerned about the future expense of a red-light-camera program. He also expressed reservations about the proliferation of cameras that he said may not actually improve safety.
Sass said the expense to run a single camera is anticipated to cost between $4,000 and $5,000 per month. However, agreements between cities and red-light camera vendors typically are written to include “no negative cash flow clauses” that ensure that cameras pay for themselves, Sass said.
Everett joins Lynnwood, Edmonds, Mill Creek and Mountlake Terrace as cities that have pursued red-light cameras.
While Lynnwood and Edmonds currently have red-light cameras operating at several intersections, officials in Mill Creek and Mountlake Terrace have both scrapped red-light camera plans because they were found to have little benefit.
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
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