(The Center Square) – The Seattle City Council unanimously approved a bill that shifts revenue from automated traffic cameras into traffic safety and sidewalk repair projects.
Council Bill 120971 – sponsored by Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka – amends the city’s financial policies to allocate 70% of automated traffic camera revenue to go toward the general fund.
Originally, 80% of the revenue would have gone to the general fund, but the city council was more divisive on a revision to the allocation of funding. Council members voted 5-3 in favor of an amendment to decrease the allocation on Tuesday.
The remaining fine revenue will go into a new Automated Traffic Camera Fund, which is included in Council Bill 120971. The non-general fund revenue will be split with at least 15% going toward new sidewalks and sidewalk repair and the rest going to traffic safety projects.
“By seeking to put cameras where speeding is known to happen – they can help strengthen public safety in neighborhoods that have been disproportionately impacted by dangerous street racing,” Saka said in a statement. “And as an added benefit of our bold new investment, authorized revenue from traffic cameras can be used to address our missing and broken sidewalk network across the city.”
The bill updates Seattle’s code to reflect statewide changes made in 2024 expanding how cities can use cameras and revenue generated from them. Council Bill 120971 also allows civilians and Seattle Department of Transportation employees to process citations, which was legalized by the state Legislature.
Seattle first deployed “block the box” cameras, transit lane enforcement cameras and restricted lane access cameras in 2020 to deter people from reckless driving and improve traffic safety. However, the city was restricted in how revenue could be used and who could review infractions caught by cameras. Hence Council Bill 120971.
An amendment was previously added to the bill that issues warnings within the first 30 days of operations for all traffic safety camera programs in order to soften the impact and prevent $237 fines from destabilizing lower-income residents.
The bill now needs Mayor Bruce Harrell’s signature and takes effect 30 days afterward.
