New data released Tuesday indicate the number of violations at Redmond's camera-enforced intersections is declining, but the frequency of collisions is also increasing.
According to the new numbers, which were presented at a Redmond City Council public safety committee meeting, the total number of violations declined by 43.7 percent between March and August of this year. Collisions at the three intersections with red-light cameras, meanwhile, increased from 14 in January through August of 2010 to 19 during the same time period this year.
The city's controversial camera enforcement pilot program has been in place since February. It includes red-light cameras eastbound on Redmond Way at 148th Avenue NE, which is just east of the Redmond/Kirkland line on Rose Hill; eastbound and westbound on NE 40th Street at 156th Avenue NE; and westbound on Union Hill Road and northbound on Avondale Road where those two roads intersect. A speed zone camera is also located at Einstein Elementary, 18025 NE 116th St.
Fines for camera-enforced violations are $124.
Part of the decrease in violations that was reported Tuesday can be attributed to a camera malfunction at Redmond Way and 148th Avenue Northeast, where the number of violations declined from 871 in March to 384 in August. The camera malfunctioned in May, June and July but was working properly in August, according to the Redmond Police Department.
The speed camera near Einstein Elementary on Northeast 116th Street was also turned off during the summer months when school was not in session.
Anti-camera activist Scott Harlan says he believes the 43.7-percent reduction in violations has been skewed by both the camera malfunctions and the police department's rate of rejecting potential violations, which increased from a monthly average of 501 rejections between March and June to an average of 551 rejections per month between March and August.
"While the police department has clearly been fine-tuning its review process for the better, those dramatic changes in the review process skew all of the earlier citation data reported as part of the program," Harlan said in an email he sent to the city council and members of the local media.
Department officials have said previously that officers who review videos of potential violations use the same discretion they apply while on patrol. Police spokesman Jim Bove said that process has not changed since the camera program began, although different people have had the duty of reviewing the videotapes.
“Nothing has changed, but the thing to understand is it’s not always the same person doing it,” Bove said.
City council member Hank Myers, who is also chairman of the public safety committee, said he is pleased the number of rejected violations is increasing.
"I think we're getting a little more sophisticated in determining what a violation is," he said.
Myers also said the violations have brought in approximately $630,000 through August. Much of that money is being used to pay for court costs, however, and the city will not find out how much it will receive until the end of the year.
The city council must decide whether to renew its contract with camera vendor American Traffic Solutions before Dec. 1. Council members are scheduled to begin discussing the matter at an Oct. 11 study session.
The entire report presented at the committee meeting is attached to this story and can also be viewed by clicking here.
http://kirkland.patch.com/articles/redmond-traffic-cam-violations-down-collisions-up
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