Driven by greed, they target unfairly
State Rep. Chris Hurst, D-Enumclaw, has my support regarding the red-light cameras [“Bill would change fines, timing of red-light cameras,” NWMonday, Jan. 25].
The driving force behind these cameras is greed. Shortening the yellow-light period is only the start of how the citizens will get soaked. Look at the city of Lake Forest Park and their placement of a camera near the Brookside school on Northeast 178th Street. This road has been a 25 mph area for a long time. The city has created a tricky exception to the rule that is currently in existence around school zones. The camera operates during two different periods of the day: from 7-9:30 a.m. and from 2-4:30 p.m. The exception is that during these two different periods, the speed is 20 mph and the school yellow warning lights are not operating. The camera operates only on school days — another exception.
The result is that a person with little knowledge of the area — especially during the dark and rainy period — would definitely get a ticket. In addition to that, these tickets are probably keeping the courts busy and making money for an out-of-state third-party.
How about hiring an extra local patrol and keeping standard rules in place instead of placing obnoxious cameras that cause accidents and tension to the majority of law-abiding citizens? The backlash will be that citizens who have voted for bonds and school levies will slowly stop supporting their local government.
— Fran Whitehill, Shoreline
Show me the evidence
I seems clear there is no good — repeat good — data that camera lights reduce accidents; Anecdotes are not data.
Let’s see the city prove it the red-light cameras not just intended as a revenue source by giving the fines to Mercy Corps.
One Scandinavian country took out the traffic lights altogether and accidents went down. It took guts, but it worked.
One intersection — Northeast 45th Street at Union Bay Place — has five corners and is a good candidate for a European-type roundabout. It has lots of room and will have no lights, no maintenance, no bookkeeping, no electricity and therefore no cameras and bureaucracy.
Otherwise, show me the beef.
— Don Bell, Seattle