The City of Redmond’s new Safety Camera Pilot Program — featuring three red-light cameras and a school-zone speeding camera — gets the green light Feb. 1.
Redmond police will issue warning tickets through February and will begin issuing $124 fines in March.
The program will run for one year after which the city will evaluate its effectiveness and determine whether to make it permanent.
The locations of the three intersection cameras are eastbound at 148th Avenue Northeast and Redmond Way, eastbound and westbound at 156th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 40th Street and westbound and northbound at Union Hill Road and Avondale Road. A study performed in 2009 showed these intersections averaged over 600 vehicles running a red-light per month, according to a City of Redmond press release.
The school zone safety camera is installed eastbound and westbound in front of Einstein Elementary on Northeast 116th Street in north Redmond. This area averaged almost 1,000 speeding violations (at least 26 mph in a 20 mph school zone) per month, the press release said.
“The City of Redmond is committed to the safety of the community and these violations are a clear threat to public safety,” said Mayor John Marchione. “The goal of this safety camera program is to change dangerous driver behavior, reduce preventable collisions at signalized intersections and prevent car-pedestrian collisions in school zones.”
A national study indicates more than 65 percent of all vehicles travel at least 10 mph over the posted school zone speed. While a pedestrian has an almost 90 percent survival rate at 20 mph; hit at 30 mph, a pedestrian has less than a 30 percent chance of surviving.
The revenue generated by the fines will be used to support the pilot program, according to Redmond Police Commander Shari Shovlin.
“Should the revenue collected exceed the cost of the program, the money will be used only for public and traffic safety programs,” she said.
The city has developed an informational brochure including an insert with frequently asked questions. Information is available on the city’s website. For additional information, contact Commander Shari Shovlin at sshovlin@redmond.gov or (425) 556-2564.
