Seattle's Increasing Use of Traffic Cameras Raises Debate Over Long-Term Solutions for Pedestrian Safety

by Lauryn Bray

As Seattle leans more heavily on traffic enforcement cameras to prevent collisions, some critics say their increasing use distracts from the need for infrastructural changes to regulate how traffic flows on major streets through the city.

With the City Council election in November, issues around public safety are once again coming to the forefront, and while some people may feel more at ease with the installation of these new cameras, others feel that enforcement technology in response to problems of infrastructure will only divert attention from the implementation of more long-lasting solutions and possibly cause harm.

"I like to think of it as double jeopardy or even entrapment," said KL Shannon, a community organizer with the neighborhood safety coalition Whose Streets? Our Streets! (WSOS). "These cameras are being put on wide roads that encourage people to speed and those roads are there because we've neglected to invest in the community to support roadway safety.

"So people are being encouraged to speed on a road that looks like it's meant for 40 miles an hour, but the speed limit is 25 and then when you inevitably go above that speed limit, you get a $200 ticket."

Several bills have been passed by Seattle City Council allowing for the installation of traffic enforcement cameras across the city.

Four types of cameras are being installed in areas across Seattle where instances of high-speed traffic frequently occur: school zone cameras, red light cameras, "block-the-box" intersection cameras, and drag racing cameras.

Drag racing cameras, the most recent of the bunch to be installed, have been placed in "restricted racing zones," or designated areas where drag racing is prohibited.

While these cameras may deter drivers from racing in restricted areas, some community members are concerned the cameras are a band-aid solution to a complex infrastructure problem.

"It would take a long time to [install sidewalks] and we have people getting hit by cars now," said Alex Pedersen, District 4 Seattle City Councilmember. "The cameras really enable us to put something in place sooner rather than later to deal with the problem that we have now: collisions, fatalities, and serious injuries."

According to Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) data, there have been 123 instances this year of motor vehicles colliding with pedestrians in Seattle. In all of King County, there have been 292 collisions with pedestrians.

So far six pedestrians have died in Seattle this year after colliding with a motor vehicle. This number is much lower than the 25 pedestrians killed in King County this year after being hit by a car.

Traffic enforcement cameras are not a recent invention, nor are they new to Seattle. Seattle started installing speed enforcement cameras in 2012 to enforce the 20 mph speed limit in school zones.

The 2023—2024 City budget, adopted November 2022, carves out almost $4 million total in funding for increasing safety in school zones with $2.7 million specifically allotted for the installation of school zone cameras. However, what the City of Seattle has not seen before is the installation of "drag racing" cameras. These new speed enforcement cameras will be installed in areas that have been designated restricted racing zones.

This summer, the Seattle City Council passed three bills concerning the implementation of drag racing cameras, each proposing different guidelines. CB 120600 adopted July 25, designated zones where drag racing cameras are to be installed. So far, 10 zones across the city have been identified as potential locations for the cameras.

The other bills, CB 120625 and CB 120638, were both passed by the Transportation Committee on Aug. 15. CB 120625 mandates that the first infraction is a warning and drivers will not be fined until their second violation. CB 120638 directs remaining funds toward physical improvements for traffic safety rather than to the general fund for new cameras.

Pedersen, who sponsored all three council bills, says that speed enforcement cameras are just one part of a two-part solution.

"We need to act with more urgency and use all the tools that we have, both to physically change the streets — make them safer by installing crosswalks, sidewalks, stoplights — [and] we also need to have the enforcement element but do it in a way that makes sense for Seattle," explained Pedersen. "Since we have such an understaffed police department, and there are concerns about having officers dedicated to chasing down reckless drivers (because that can create its own danger in terms of high-speed chases or additional interactions with police), here we have technology that can be part of a solution."

While more sidewalks would be nice, they are expensive and the City usually waits until a private developer with their own incentive for having a sidewalk asks the City for permission to install it. However, Councilmember Tammy Morales argues that expanding the city's public transportation system might be a more viable solution.

"We need to rethink the way those roads are used — we really need to be investing in public transit so that people can get out of their cars. Because the truth that we are facing is the world is on fire right now," Morales said. "Climate change should be driving a lot of our rethinking about roads and automobile usage anyway. But if we are going to have people get out of their cars, we have to make that the easy choice, and right now, it's not the easy choice."

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