Seattle To Expand Traffic Camera Program

New traffic enforcement cameras are coming to Seattle in September, reports Ryan Packer in The Urbanist, expanding a pilot program approved in 2020. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) announced three locations that will receive new cameras to ticket drivers who block a marked crosswalk or mid-street box. and enforce the dedicated transit lane on the West Seattle Bridge.   

According to Packer, “The new cameras all target locations with long-standing complaints of low compliance with traffic laws and look poised to have a positive impact on mobility for transit riders and pedestrians alike.”

“These three additional cameras will bring the total number of cameras active under the state pilot program to 11, with one location (Fifth Avenue and Olive Way) acting as both a transit-lane and a block-the-box camera.” The pilot program that made the cameras possible was initially scheduled to expire this summer, but was extended to 2025.

Data obtained by The Urbanist after the pilot program began showed that “the cameras were having their intended effect of impacting future driver behavior, though the relatively small number of cameras in the city didn’t provide a huge sample size and more data may very well show more repeat offenders.”