Three busy intersections in Edmonds could soon get red-light test cameras if a City Council proposal is approved Sept. 2.
If enough drivers run red lights during the trial period, permanent cameras could be installed, city officials said.
The intersections include all four directions of 220th Street Southwest and Highway 99, north and south bound Highway 99 at 238th Street Southwest, and east and west bound on Edmonds Way at 100th Avenue West.
All three intersections are in southern Edmonds.
There need to be 1.2 violations daily in each direction to justify permanent cameras, said Assistant Chief of Police Gerry Gannon.
The test cameras cannot be used to hand out tickets, but permanent cameras could.
Racing into an intersection after the light turned red would cost drivers $124. Tickets from the cameras are considered non-moving violations, officials said.
Lynnwood’s twelve cameras generated $1.1 million in six months after they were installed last summer. The city of Seattle has also raised millions of dollars.
The cities of Mill Creek and Mountlake Terrace both recently conducted trial versions similar to the Edmonds proposal. Neither city installed cameras.
The combined experiences of those cities make the trial run a good step, Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson said Aug. 18.
“Going through the survey is an important thing to do,” he said. “We may actually find out that we do not have a problem.”
The proposal was approved by the council’s Public Safety committee Aug. 12.
The committee had delayed the cameras for many months after police suggested the intersections, but did not provide corresponding collision data.
“The (cameras) should not be viewed as a money making device,” said committee chair Deanna Dawson in February. “The goal should be for no one to run the red lights, in which case no revenue would be realized.”
This month, traffic engineer Bertrand Hauss accompanied Gannon when he pitched the cameras to the committee.
Hauss said each of the intersections had seen numerous dangerous right-angle collisions over the past four years, said traffic engineer Bertrand Hauss. Each intersection averages roughly one right-angle collision a year, he said.
All collisions are documented, but near-misses are impossible to count, he said.
“There are probably a lot of near misses at those intersections that we don’t even know about,” Hauss said.
In Edmonds, the test cameras would be installed and monitored by American Traffic Solutions, the same company that has installed cameras elsewhere, including 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 would take a percentage of any camera revenue.
If the city denies permission, it would face a $500 charge per intersection.
If they are ultimately approved, the cameras could be short-lived.
An initiative by Tim Eyman on November’s ballot, I-985, would probably force ATS to pull its cameras if approved, Gannon said.
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