Half a dozen Alki-area residents told city councilmembers today that they support a proposal that would be a ‘first step” toward automated speed cameras on three streets that would be designated as “racing zones.” We first reported last week on the proposal sponsored by West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold and co-sponsored by Councilmember Alex Pedersen. Today the Transportation and Public Utilities Committee, chaired by Pedersen, got its first look at the proposal – just a briefing, not a vote; you can see it in the video above, starting 47 minutes into the meeting. This proposal would align city code with state authorization for additional uses of automated enforcement cameras and would designate certain city streets as “racing zones” eligible for them.
The supporters comprised the entirety of commenter turnout for the meeting – five in person at City Hall, one by phone, speaking right at the meeting’s start. The in-person comments were led by Mike Gain, one of the leaders of an Alki/Harbor Avenues resident group that, as he told the councilmembers, has been working with city reps for months on solutions to street disorder including racing/speeding. He said cameras would be a “safety tool” and would be “incredible” to get. Other speakers talked about the racing and stunt driving they see regularly, and the dangers it poses, along with the noise.
The briefing yielded little new information beyond what we previewed here last night, aside from stressing that if cameras are eventually deployed, state law requires half the revenue from citations to go to the state, for the Cooper Jones Active Transportation Safety Account.
What was not discussed, because it’s still several steps down the potential path to camera installation, is where they would be used and how they would be used. Even if this bill is passed, it wouldn’t happen fast – an equity analysis is required, and then SDOT and SPD would have to come up with an implementation plan, and the mayor would be expected to specify funding. An already-authorized plan to double the number of school-zone speed cameras around the city is still in the planning stage.
By the time this committee votes on the “first step,” the list of potential “racing zones” around the city will likely be longer than the initial six (Alki, Harbor, West Marginal, plus three in Northeast Seattle) – during the briefing, Councilmember Dan Strauss, whose district includes Ballard, said he intended to propose two streets including Seaview from the Ballard Locks to Golden Gardens, and Pedersen said he expected other proposals. July 6th is the date he set for that; the committee could vote on the idea July 18th. A full council vote would follow that. How long the subsequent steps would take after that – the time that would elapse before potential camera installation – too soon to say.
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