Tri-City officials weigh use of cameras in traffic law enforcement

By Joe Chapman, Herald staff writer

The city of Moses Lake last week went to court to defend its use of traffic cameras to enforce speed limits in a school zone. The city has been using cameras for traffic enforcement for about a year now, and the jury still is out on their effectiveness in promoting safe driving there.

In the Tri-Cities, cameras aren't used for traffic enforcement, though at least one city still is exploring the possibility.

Redflex Traffic Systems, a vendor and operator of traffic enforcement cameras, gave a presentation to several Tri-City officials in the fall.

"A lot of us who use the city's intersections see a lot of red-light running," Pasco City Manager Gary Crutchfield said. "We don't need a camera to tell us what's going on. But whether there's enough to warrant the installation cost of the system is the bigger question."

Pasco and Richland considered the proposal, working with the company to provide traffic data about several intersections where it might make sense to use cameras. The cameras can be used to help police departments crack down on rampant violations that otherwise may take more manpower than they can put to the problem.

"We targeted a few key points where we experienced problems," said Steve Stairs, transportation engineer for Richland. Several intersections on George Washington Way, including Aaron Drive, Swift Boulevard and Comstock Street, were studied as well as the intersection of Leslie Road and Gage Boulevard.

Temporary cameras were set up to monitor the intersections for a couple of weeks each. But the data showed motorists were obeying the red lights enough that the cost of installing permanent cameras wouldn't be justified, and Redflex essentially turned the city down.

"It has a lot to do with statistical analysis being different from perception sometimes," police Capt. Mike Cobb said.

In Pasco, the intersection of 20th Avenue and Court Street and the intersection of Burden Boulevard and Road 68 were considered, Police Chief Denis Austin said.

"It's still in the discussion stages," Austin said. "It would require an ordinance to be passed before anything could be implemented like that."

Crutchfield said the analysis was still being done, but if using cameras for traffic enforcement in Pasco is found to be warranted, staff will make a presentation to the city council later this year.

In Kennewick, the city in recent years contacted a couple of traffic camera vendors to learn about their systems, but then decided not to pursue it, police Capt. Craig Littrell said.

The city would continue to rely on its traffic patrol unit to monitor accident-prone intersections and get the numbers down through enforcement, he said.

"But the technology is out there, and as different cities go that route, it's something we may look at again down the road," he said.

West Richland hasn't considered using cameras to enforce red lights at either of its two signalized intersections.

None of the Tri-Cities have explored using traffic cameras for speed enforcement, which state law allows in school zones.

And although none of the Tri-Cities are using cameras for traffic enforcement in any capacity, some are using camera technology to trigger signal changes at intersections.

Richland has used cameras for vehicle detection at intersections since 2003.

Kennewick started using them even further back, in about 1994, said John Deskins, traffic engineer. Of the city's 59 signalized intersections, 52 use video detection, he said.

The city doesn't record footage from the cameras, but Deskins said he's trying out a demo of a device that would provide the capability, similar to a digital video recorder for a TV.

The recorder's data would be used to help traffic engineers fix signal problems with minimal resources. And in the event of a crime or an accident, the footage could be saved as evidence, he said. But the quality of the picture is poor and couldn't be used to read a license plate, to tell what color a car is, or even to tell that a person is inside the vehicle, he said.

"It's an incredibly good tool for troubleshooting," Deskins said. "It's a really lousy tool for identifying somebody."

Pasco doesn't use any cameras for triggering signal changes at intersections, relying instead on induction loops in the street pavement and timers.

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Monday, Jun. 22, 2009

Tri-City officials weigh use of cameras in traffic law enforcement

By Joe Chapman, Herald staff writer