MILL CREEK – A third city in Snohomish County is considering using camera traps to snag traffic scofflaws.
The Mill Creek Police Department wants to install automated digital cameras at intersections to photograph vehicles that run red lights. Police also want to use the cameras to photograph people who speed through school zones.
The owners of vehicles would be mailed tickets.
“Here’s a technology that can help us rectify a problem in the city while freeing up our officers to do other things they can only do face-to-face,” Mill Creek City Councilman Mike Todd said.
Police hope the cameras will help curb the number of accidents in the city.
In 2006, nearly half of the city’s 293 accidents happened at four intersections – 35th Avenue SE and Highway 96; 132nd Street SE and Highway 527; 164th Street SE and Highway 527; and 164th Street SE and Mill Creek Boulevard.
“Based on the accident data, those are the intersections we need to be most concerned about,” Police Chief Bob Crannell said.
The Mill Creek City Council discussed the cameras during a study session earlier in the week. The council gave Crannell permission to seek companies to provide the service.
The cities of Everett and Lynnwood also are planning to use cameras to ticket drivers who ignore red lights.
In Lynnwood, cameras had been scheduled to be operational at intersections by spring. However, the project was stalled when thieves stole a van containing study data from city intersections. Bad weather also caused delays, Lynnwood police spokeswoman Shannon Sessions said.
Cameras are used at some intersections in Seattle. A Seattle police spokeswoman declined to comment on the success of that city’s program, citing an upcoming evaluation of the cameras’ effectiveness.
The cameras have worked elsewhere. In New York City, the number of collisions decreased by 41 percent from 1994 to 2004 at intersections where cameras were present, according to New York City Police Department data.
“One of the most complained-about traffic violations is red-light runners,” Sessions said. “While our traffic unit is very proactive, they cannot be everywhere all the time. This system will be very helpful in curbing this problem.”
Having cameras at intersections may cause drivers to think before deciding to break the law, Todd said.
“You’re looking for a change in behavior,” he said. “You’re not trying to catch everyone who does this; you’re trying to make people realize, ‘This isn’t a good idea.’ “
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