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Staff proposes criteria for traffic camera placement, including equity lens and pedestrian‑generator focus
Summary
City staff presented a draft framework for automatic traffic camera placement that weighs crash history, pedestrian generators, multimodal infrastructure and an equity lens; staff said speed studies will be needed to finalize site scores and that state law now requires equity analysis for camera siting.
City staff presented a draft scoring framework on March 19 for where to place automated traffic enforcement and photo‑red cameras, saying the framework will help balance safety needs with statutory equity requirements.
William Hellman, an intern working with city staff, walked commissioners through proposed categories: crash history (five‑year rolling window), proximity to pedestrian generators (schools, hospitals, grocery stores, shelters and parks), nearby multimodal infrastructure (bike lanes, transit stops), distance from prior traffic‑calming projects and distance from existing cameras. Staff said the latter two items serve an equity purpose: ensuring revenue‑generating cameras are not concentrated only in neighborhoods and that camera revenue can help fund nearby mitigation.
Speed is a key category but requires site speed studies, staff said. The draft treats the posted speed limit and the average‑versus‑posted speed differential separately; staff said the differential will use an exponential weighting because higher speeds substantially increase fatality risk. Hellman noted that state law changes require an equity analysis and that the proposed framework is an initial iteration that can be refined.
Commissioners and staff discussed the merits of metrics such as 85th‑percentile speed versus average speed, and how to ensure revenues collected in an area are returned to that area. Staff noted they will run candidate locations through the scoring framework and return with refined weighting and site recommendations; no camera placements were approved at the meeting.
The commission invited public feedback and indicated staff should keep refining data inputs and equity analyses before bringing specific placement recommendations.
