LFP traffic cameras fill $660,000 Ballinger roundabout gap
Monday, January 27, 2025
Lake Forest Park will use new traffic safety camera revenue to fill a $660,000 gap in the Ballinger roundabout project.
 |
| LFP will build a roundabout at the Ballinger Way and 40th Pl NE intersection - photo by Oliver Moffat |
At the Thursday, January 23, meeting the Lake Forest Park city council voted to use funds from the city’s new traffic safety enforcement cameras to fill a funding gap of $660,000 for the roundabout on Ballinger at 40th Place NE.
Ballinger Way (also known as SR104) is a state highway and one of the busiest and most dangerous roads in LFP - dividing the city and creating a hazardous barrier for pedestrians.
Councilmember Semra Riddle highlighted the need for a safe pedestrian crossing on Ballinger.
“It's such a challenge to get across that Ballinger line for our community… It's near impossible when you're walking,” she said.
And emphasizing the importance of completing the project despite setbacks she said, “something like this increases that pedestrian safety and allows at least one place for us to be able to cross safely.”
The Washington Traffic Safety Commission said more pedestrians were killed in Washington State in 2023 than in any other year on record.
Studies have shown roundabouts improve safety for pedestrians and are becoming a common safety feature on roadways.
Lake Forest Park plans to spend $7 million from its $7.5 million transportation fund to build the roundabout at Ballinger Way and 40th Place NE.
Construction of the roundabout project is expected to commence this summer with planned completion in 2027. Because of rising costs and overruns, the city now anticipates a $660,000 shortfall and will use automated traffic safety camera revenue to cover the gap.
The city expects to collect $12 million in traffic safety camera fines over the next biennium thanks to a new state law that allowed the city to increase fines and leave the cameras on all-day throughout the year after designating 178th near Brookside elementary a “school walk zone.”
The old red-light cameras along Bothell Way and the speed cameras near Lake Forest Park elementary will bring $4,381,800 and the city expects to earn $8,040,000 from the cameras on 178th near Brookside elementary. City staff told the council there was $417,000 from the new traffic safety cameras as of end of year.
 |
| A cyclist braves weekend traffic where LFP will build a roundabout at the Ballinger Way and 40th Pl NE intersection - photo by Oliver Moffat |
After turning on the cameras in June, average speeds dropped from over 30 mph to less than 25 mph.
Mayor Tom French gave an update on the new traffic cameras.
“Our running average is about 122 citations… a day... Which is unfortunate. We were hoping those numbers would drop dramatically,” he said.
“The good news is the speed has dropped, continues to drop. The latest number I had was 23.2 miles an hour in that zone which is a very positive step.”
Under the new traffic safety camera law, revenue from automated traffic safety cameras must be spent on “direct and meaningful” traffic safety benefits in census tracts with the lowest household incomes and areas with high rates of injury crashes.
According to a map from the recently adopted LFP comprehensive plan, Lake Forest Park has four census tracts and the roundabout will be located between the two wealthiest tracts in the city.
According to the 2025-2026 biennium budget, the city plans to use funds from the new traffic cameras to cover the salaries of two additional court clerks, three more police officers, and most of the salary for a public works employee.
Posts
7 comments:
I know this has nothing to do with the round about or maybe it does? Will we ever buy The LFP Commons, Third Place Books, Town Center, Ace, LFP mall, Ross building? Whatever you call it. This landmark gathering place with the brilliant unique third place philosophy (Ray Oldenburg) which is why we moved here. The distinguishing feature that makes us a community. Oh, please.🙏
As someone who never speeds, it was ironic that a few moments of inattention led to my getting a ticket from the camera by Brookside - when I realized where I was I immediately slowed down but alas - too late. A letter with two very clear pictures of my car appeared in my mail about 2 weeks later. I sighed and wrote and mailed a check for $136. Argh! I still support cameras as a way to enforce traffic laws and will cheerfully lobby for more in Shoreline.
As post #2 illustrates, the LFP speed cameras are not about safety, but about creating a trap designed to ensnare both safe and unsafe drivers.
As the article illustrates, the City of LFP is less concerned about the speeds people are driving than they are about filling a revenue gap so that they can waste $7 million to build a roundabout that we don't need.
Our local elected officials fail us time and time again.
As a pedestrian I love the traffic camera at Brookside, it clearly affects the behavior of drivers coming down the steep hill. As a driver though I spend most of the time monitoring my speedometer instead of the road in that section, which seems counterproductive to safety. I hope LFP uses the revenue to build more sidewalks, or at least protect the current ones from overgrowth spreading from negligent property owners.
It really is sad all the effort to fleece the public with traffic cameras in LFP. Make no mistake that they are a revenue generator first, and some side benefit for 'traffic safety' a far behind second. I used to like spending money in LFP, but since they have aggressively used cameras(for a long time now), make every effort to not enter and drive around. And, I am a safe and slow driver, LFP, you actually want me to drive through and into your area. Sorry business owners, I spend my hard earned money elsewhere.
The pedestrian/driver comment above says it all. If a driver is forced to watch the instrument cluster instead of the road in order to keep the speed slow enough, then the camera is counterproductive to safety by reducing that driver's attention to the environment.
I've never owned a car which allows you to set the cruise control at 18 mph. School zones set at 20 and enforced by camera are a menace.
It feels unnatural for people to drive 20 mph because the roads are designed for higher speeds. If you alter the road so that it's designed for lower speeds, people will naturally travel slower without having to carefully monitor their speedometer. This is a well-studied topic in traffic engineering, and there are many things that can be done to slow down drivers, such as adding speed tables, narrowing the road, or adding chicanes.
Some drivers will whine about it, but they need to get their priorities straight and stop endangering the people around them.
Post a Comment