EDMONDS
Red-light runners as well as people concerned about privacy can breathe easier.
In the face of two class-action lawsuits filed against Washington’s 20 camera-owning cities last week, Edmonds is easing up on its red-light camera ambitions.
A planned vote to approve the cameras on July 7 was shelved.
The cameras could have been installed in two city intersections this year.
“It is a very common-sense call,” city attorney Scott Snyder said. “You sit on the sidelines and see how the issue resolves itself.”
Snyder said the lawsuits could spend months, or even years, in court.
Edmonds’ cameras would have improved driver safety, police officials said.
They would also have improved the city’s bottom line.
Fines would have generated an estimated $750,000 a year from red-light violators, according to police documents.
Critics of the cameras say they are intended primarily to generate revenue.
One of the lawsuits filed last week alleges that the camera programs were in fact illegal profit-making arrangements between cities and the camera manufacturers. Contracts signed by the cities promised that the cameras would never cost them a dime. The manufacturers simply took a cut of the camera revenue.
The second lawsuit alleges that cities charge too much money for tickets. Most red-light tickets in Washington cost $124.
Edmonds’ proposed contract was structured with the same incentives and fees.
For instance, more than 15 percent of the city’s estimated ticket revenue was earmarked for American Traffic Solutions, the camera manufacturer. The company’s share added up to $114,000 a year.
In mid-June, Edmonds City Council rejected the cameras by a 4-3 vote. But Councilman Ron Wambolt, who initially opposed the cameras, changed his mind. He arranged to bring the cameras back for a second vote on July 7. That second vote was cancelled.
“There was potential to improve safety at these intersections and also — and this isn’t a bad thing — to bring us some money,” Wambolt said.
If the lawsuits are resolved in the city’s favor, he hopes Edmonds moves forward with the cameras, he said.
Others disagreed.
Councilman Steve Bernheim doesn’t want Edmonds police enforcing laws through remote video monitoring, he said.
Plus, there are studies showing that the red-light cameras increase some types of accidents such as rear-end collisions, he said.
“I think it’s a difficult scientific question about whether these cameras actually are effective or not,” Bernheim said. But, he said, “It’s also a question of what kind of city do we want to be? I don’t want to be the city that fines every Edmonds resident for a rolling, red-light, right-hand turn.”
Chris Fyall writes for the Herald of Everett.
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