A few weeks ago I received an inglorious photo in the mail of my Outback speeding along Second Avenue. It was like gazing into a security video shot of a robber hitting a bank – they caught me.
To add to the ignominious moment, I had been given a $125 speeding infraction. While pouting and perhaps a gin were called for, I couldn’t help but crack a smile.
A year after coming to the Reporter, I had finally been initiated into the community.
With 5,580 tickets awarded last year alone, there likely are few other experiences that bind us than the Second Avenue speeding camera.
In Issaquah the fairly new system has had an obvious benefit, at least according to Police Chief Paul Ayers who says after years of patrolling Second, people have finally slowed down. With four schools along the road, it’s a high-risk area to children at crosswalks.
That benefit doesn’t come without irritation. For example with my ticket, the video didn’t show the construction project that blocked the street in front of the speed sign.
Then there is the $482,883 in revenue the city gets from the single speed trap each year of which $57,000 goes to a private company processing the footage.
Ultimately the decision is up to the citizenry – the poor saps most likely to be paying the fines. Last election Bellingham and Monroe came out against red light cameras, brother programs to the speed cameras, in overwhelming numbers.
Is Issaquah’s turn next? It only takes one angry person with one too many speeding infractions to organize a petition.
While receiving an automated ticket felt as impersonal as RoboCop, as creepy as seeing a photo of yourself on a stranger’s blog and as delightful Big Brother’s looming eyes, my concern isn’t whether Issaquah and Sammamish have them. My concern is about keeping officers on the roads.
Half the time I hear about police arresting dangerous drunks or those with warrants on their heads, the stop was first initiated because someone was speeding.
When you take the physical presence of police out of the equation in traffic enforcement, you limit their ability to catch real criminals. Inevitably some resources are taken from the field and put into flipping through faceless videos of cars driving 5 over the limit.
For Sammamish Police Chief Nate Elledge, it was an easy decision not to support similar cameras there this December.
“I prefer for our officers here in our city to do face to face contact with people who violate the law,” he said. “It gives us the ability to investigate the traffic stop a little bit further.”
Sammamish has only two officers to enforce traffic, he said; he rather see them on their beats.
For a city that has most it’s speeding complaints when kids are already in class, the City Council made the right decision.
As for my Issaquah ticket, the judge showed me quite a bit of mercy. I pointed out that the cost was supposed to be equivalent to a parking ticket, and my fee was reduced to $40 – a happy price to pay to feel a little bit closer to the community.
