LYNNWOOD— A program that uses cameras to record vehicles running red lights at key intersections has the city of Lynnwood seeing green — as in greenbacks.
From July 1 to Oct. 3, the city mailed out 5,730 traffic tickets and brought in $308,455 in gross revenue, said Lynnwood Police Department spokeswoman Shannon Sessions.
The program costs about $18,500 a month to run, but that doesn’t include expenses for police staff who review each ticket before sending it out to registered vehicle owners.
Mayor Don Gough has proposed funding three new police patrol officers and three more firefighters with red light camera revenue.
The mayor’s $6 million mid-bienniel budget recommendation, which the City Council is reviewing, sets aside $1.2 million in anticipated annual revenue from the red light camera program. Cameras record both still photographs and video of westbound traffic at five city intersections.
The $124 tickets are mailed to the vehicle’s registered owner. Infractions are considered misdemeanors similar to parking violations, so a red light camera ticket won’t end up on your record.
Sessions said the first year of the program is a trial, to see how it’s going to work. She said police share responsibility for reviewing the photos and video, just to make certain there was a violation. Police push an accept or reject button as they process photos and video.
“Every once in a while, they do press ‘reject’ because maybe it’s just too close to call,” she said.
On the other hand, she added, “very often, what they see just puts an exclamation mark on this program.”
A big officer pet peeve: drivers who don’t stop at an intersection before turning right.
“This is the moment when pedestrians are hit in crosswalks,” Sessions said.
Police Chief Steve Jensen told the council Oct. 1 that courts historically collect about 85 percent of infractions mailed out because by law, vehicle owners risk losing their right to drive if the fee isn’t paid.
Councilman Mark Smith asked Gough if he thought the city could rely on the red light ticket revenue over the long term. Gough answered that the city’s revenue estimate is “extremely conservative.”
Gough called the number of red light runners “absolutely shocking.”
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