A proposal to further study installing red light cameras at several Kent intersections came to a quick stop at a City Council committee meeting.
After a report about red light cameras from Police Chief Ken Thomas, Public Safety Committee members Les Thomas and Dana Ralph voted against asking staff to gather more information. Councilman Jim Berrios, chair of the committee, wanted to pursue the matter.
“I guess we will not ask for more information,” Berrios said after the Nov. 8 vote.
Berrios asked the police department in October to gather information about red light cameras. The cities of Federal Way and Renton have the cameras. Auburn dropped its program. Des Moines added cameras this month.
“The last six months or so people have expressed concerns about people running red lights,” Berrios said at the meeting about the reasons for the discussion. “I see it every day when I’m out on the road. I’m really concerned about that.”
A written report from the police department, however, which analyzed studies and statistics in Los Angeles, Arizona, Texas as well as Kent’s neighboring cities, concluded it’s undetermined whether red light cameras make intersections safer or not.
“There is no clear-cut answer,” the report said. “In some intersections collisions are reduced, in others they are increased.”
Ralph read the report and decided against the cameras for several reasons.
“I have a lot of concerns about pursuing this,” Ralph said. “There is a problem with people running red lights, but it doesn’t appear red light cameras address those concerns in any significant ways and neighboring cities are taking them out. …There are more rear end collisions because people come up and stop. …I have concerns about our city and how welcoming we are if cameras are on every corner. I don’t see data to support it as a safety or revenue tool.”
Kent Police staff listed five intersections as possible locations for cameras based on the highest number of collisions in 2015 for all types of accidents, not only running red lights:
• 104th Ave. SE and SE 240th St. (60 collisions)
• 104th Ave. SE and SE 256th St. (48)
• Central Ave. N. and E. James St. (37)
• 84th Ave. S. and S. 212th St. (37)
• Central Ave. N. and E. Smith St. (35)
It would cost the city about $4,250 per camera to cover two lanes and $4,750 per camera to cover four lanes, according to the police study. It would cost about $17,000 per month to cover the 104th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 256th Street intersection. Drivers pay a fine of $124 for running a red light, so it would take about 137 violations per month to break even on $17,000.
“I worry about mixed results and the amount of money being spent,” Les Thomas said.
Kent officers wrote 463 tickets for running red lights in 2015, chief Thomas said.
Auburn Police had cameras for six years before the city ran into billing problems with their vendor and owed the vendor money. The city dropped the program in 2013. The Auburn City Council also decided it wanted a more inviting and friendly city instead of one where the residents felt big brother was watching them, according to the Kent Police study.
The city of Des Moines decided earlier this year to add red light cameras at three intersections, including one at the city of Kent border:
• Pacific Hwy S / Kent Des Moines Road (southbound & westbound, starting Dec. 15)
• Pacific Hwy S / S 216 Street (eastbound & southbound, began Nov. 1)
• Marine View Drive / S 216 Street (northbound & southbound, starting Dec. 1)
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