Seattle Council approves concept for interactive downtown kiosks after debate over cameras, term and revenue

The Seattle City Council on June 3 adopted Resolution 32170, granting conceptual approval for the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) to install, maintain and operate interactive media kiosks in the Metropolitan Improvement District and select neighborhood business districts.

The resolution passed 7-2 after council members debated amendments that would have banned camera technology on the kiosks and shortened the vendor term. The council adopted one amendment to allow surplus revenue beyond amounts earmarked for business improvement areas (BIAs) to be used for improvements in other neighborhood commercial districts.

The committees that considered the proposal — Governance, Accountability and Economic Development — voted unanimously in committee to move the resolution forward. Councilmember Andrew Hollingsworth, chair of the committee and sponsor of the resolution, said the kiosks would provide wayfinding, real‑time transit information, multilingual emergency information, free Wi‑Fi (without storing information), and revenue for BIAs and the DSA. Hollingsworth said phase 1 would install 30…