Every hour police officers spend monitoring traffic at a signaled intersection is an hour they can’t devote to crime prevention in local neighborhoods.
As Mill Creek residents demand heightened security around their homes and school zones, the City Council is investigating whether photo enforcement of signaled intersections will provide officers more flexibility in policing the community.
On Tuesday, council authorized the city manager to draft a contract with American Traffic Solutions of up to $6,000 to assess signal violation rates at three intersections.
If council approves the contract, ATS will install cameras at the selected intersections and monitor traffic for eight hour time periods.
ATS will recommend photo enforcement at intersections where more than ten violations are recorded per day. The city will pay no installation fee if council implements video monitoring at the recommended locations. At that point, ATS’ monitoring services would be paid from a capped percentage of fines collected for signal violations.
“Our risk here is minimal,” Councilwoman Mary Kay Voss said. “If it turns out there’s no need for a photo enforcement program, we pay nothing. If it turns out we do have a problem, ATS does most of the work. We only need one city employee, and it doesn’t even have to be a police officer, to review video of the violations.”
According to data compiled by the police department, there were 254 accidents at the selected intersections between 2006 and 2007 through Oct. 31: 109 accidents at the intersection of State Route 527 and 164th Street Southeast; 107 accidents at the intersection of State Route 96 and 35th Avenue Southeast; and 37 accidents at the intersection of Mill Creek Boulevard and 164th Street Southeast. Of the 254 accidents, 79 resulted in injuries. The only fatality accident in Mill Creek between 2006 and 2007 occurred at the intersection of SR 527 and Dumas Road.
“More and more cities are taking advantage of this in their traffic enforcement programs, and it seems like a logical step for us,” Councilman Mike Todd said. “I know people don’t like some of the effects modern technology is having on their lives, but I’ve done ride-alongs with our officers and witnessed the time it takes to enforce compliance at signaled intersections. That’s time our police could devote to crime prevention in other areas.”
The intent of the program is to increase pedestrian and motorist safety at dangerous intersections, said Mill Creek Police Chief Bob Crannell.
Red light violations are responsible for some of the most serious collisions on roadways each year, he added.
Should council enter a formal agreement with ATS, violation assessments of the selected intersections would likely be completed by the end of the year.
“This can be a win-win for the city,” Todd said. “For the last two years, the council has been very committed to identifying efficiencies that allow our police officers to invest their time on the most important issues identified by the people in Mill Creek.”
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