CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE establishing additional uses for automated traffic safety cameras to reduce traffic congestion and increase safety; amending Sections 11.31.090 and 11.50.570 of the Seattle Municipal Code; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.
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WHEREAS, it is often not safe, practical, or desirable to utilize police officers to enforce traffic laws such as prohibitions against blocking the box or driving a private vehicle in a designated transit lane; and
WHEREAS, vehicles that "block the box" within busy intersections can interfere with safe passage across intersections by pedestrians, including people with disabilities, often forcing them into traffic, or leaving them abandoned in an intersection because a vehicle remains in the intersection blocking a curb ramp or adding to the time it takes a pedestrian to clear the intersection before the "WALK" phase ends; and
WHEREAS, drivers of unpermitted vehicles utilizing the Lower West Seattle Swing Bridge during restricted hours are interfering with transit, emergency and permitted vehicles the City has prioritized for access while the West Seattle High Bridge is closed to traffic; and
WHEREAS, by passing Engrossed Substitute House Bill (ESHB) 1793 as Chapter 224, Laws of 2020, the state has authorized the City to expand use of automated enforcement tools against stopping in a crosswalk or when traffic is obstructed, or for use of a transit-only or other restricted lane through a pilot period lasting through June 30, 2023; and
WHEREAS, ESHB 1793 establishes several conditions for the pilot authorization, such as limiting citation amounts to $75 after a mandatory warning for a first violation, requiring net citation proceeds to be split between the State's Cooper Jones Active Transportation Safety Account and the City improvements that support equitable access and mobility for people with disabilities, and issuance of a fin...
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