Shoreline considers traffic safety cameras at Monday, March 31, 2025 council meeting
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Over one thousand speeders violate Meridian Park’s 20 mph speed limit each day. Unlike neighboring cities, Shoreline has no traffic cameras.
The Shoreline City Council will discuss traffic enforcement cameras at the Monday, March 31 meeting.
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| Meridian Park students cross 175th street on the way to school - photo by Oliver Moffat |
According to data from the city, over one thousand speeders per day exceed the 20 mph limit in front of Meridian Park Elementary while the school zone lights are flashing. And 59% of all drivers speed faster than 30 mph in that Meridian Park school zone.
At both Parkwood Elementary and Shorecrest High School, 24% of drivers speed faster than 30 mph in the 20 mph school zones.
Traffic cameras are now common around the region: Edmonds, Lynnwood, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Bothell, and Seattle all have them. But not Shoreline.
The Shoreline City Council will discuss traffic enforcement cameras at the Monday, March 31 meeting.
Last year, the City Council discussed traffic cameras after reviewing the annual traffic report, which showed more people were killed or seriously injured on Shoreline’s roads than ever before.
Shoreline canceled its traffic enforcement unit because of pandemic-era staffing shortages, and last year, traffic collisions hit record highs according to the city’s police services report.
Studies show traffic cameras make roads safer, according to the city’s report. In Lake Forest Park, traffic cameras on 178th near Brookside Elementary slowed average speeds from over 30 mph to less than 25, and the Federal Highway Administration says traffic cameras can reduce crashes by over 50%.
The city’s report acknowledges that regressive fines punish poor drivers more than rich drivers but says the state’s new traffic camera law addresses equity concerns.
Under state law, fines are cut by half for recipients of public assistance, and judges can lower fines based on a recipient’s ability to pay. Any excess revenue must be spent on meaningful traffic safety improvements in poor neighborhoods with the most dangerous roads.
Information on attending the city council meeting and providing comments is available on the city’s website.
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4 comments:
Are we still discussing equity? Seriously? Remember when cities and towns had enough police officers to enforce laws and speeding? Remember when pro equity folks wanted to do away with police officers? Remember when humans had a moral compass? This is the Wild West, don’t spend my money on traffic cameras, give me more funding for police officers and less funding for housing addicts and homeless and illegal immigrants.
I'm a senior living at a senior residence in Shoreline. From my 4th floor apartment I see and loudly hear the speeding traffic every day and every night. Sirens often follow. Ambulances follow too. I cannot understand why traffic cameras have not been installed in this part of the city.
There is a lot of obvious drug and sex trade going on. Aurora Avenue is active and cars love to speed through Shoreline at very excessive speeds.Loudness is with us all the time. How about some cameras? How about making this neighborhood safer?
These cameras are illegal and I urge everyone not to comply with any tickets you receive. Getting out of the fines is easy. If Shoreline is breaking the law to give you a ticket, you are under no obligation to pay or comply. Here's how they get around the 6th Amendment https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/457790-red-light-cameras-undermine-rule-of-law/ and end up violating the 14th Amendment https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/judge-speed-camera-program-unconstitutional/article_75739b05-43aa-576d-8874-4a2efb62b3e8.html
1000 speeders a day! So I’m guessing there must be hundreds of accidents a day as well? Why haven’t we read about that?
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