School Zone Traffic Cameras Possibly Coming to Spokane

The City Council of Spokane plans to vote next Monday night if they should take the final step, and install radar-triggered traffic cameras in school zones in August.  Could they be headed out way? Currently, the only traffic cams we have are from the WSDOT on the Blue Bridge.

It's the final step in a two-year process that has seen and heard much debate.  Activists say it will protect children,  opponents say the technology might 'trap' a motorist at the 'wrong time,' and it's an invasion of privacy.

The cameras are linked to radar and automatically snap pictures of vehicles found to be exceeding the set speed limit within the zone.  Officials say such technology won't issue a "ticket" if you're going 21 in a 20, so they need to decide if it's going to be a tolerance of 26 mph or 25.

Currently, Spokane city laws and codes forbid the use of traffic cameras for ticket purposes, but if passed Monday, the new ordinance would change that. Spokane would also have to add the fine structure to it's books.

At least three schools have been targeted as the initial phase of the project, most officials believe it will pass and by August, cameras will be snapping pictures of speeders in these zones.