Council signals support for regional AI camera safety‑data study; no commitment to data usage yet

City staff asked the council on June 15 to provide a general letter of support for a Spokane Regional Transportation Council (SRTC) application to the USDOT Safe Streets for All program to pilot AI‑powered camera analytics for near‑miss and collision data collection across the Spokane region.

Public Works Director Robert Blagan summarized SRTC's approach: vendors would apply AI to video recordings to identify near‑miss events and other safety data that could help prioritize safety projects proactively rather than relying solely on reported crash locations. Blagan recounted a prior Washington DOT proposal the city considered and said the SRTC effort is similar but regional in scope.

Council members asked whether the program would install new cameras or analyze existing video feeds, who would own and retain the data, and whether data usage would raise liability or privacy concerns. SRTC staff (quoted in the staff summary) said they would not accept vendor proposals that raise liability concerns, intend to retain ownership of the data and plan further vendor and policy review; officials noted many details remain to be determined and that a letter of support is non‑binding.

Council members expressed conditional support. Council Member Ben Wicks said the city should remain its own strongest advocate in safety work and that the tool could help improve proactive safety planning. Council members requested that any future data collection or use be subject to the city's camera acceptable‑use policies, interlocal agreements, and further legal review before city data is shared or used operationally.

Staff sought and received consensus to provide a general letter of support for the SRTC application, with the caveat that detailed agreements, vendor selection and data governance would return to council for review before local jurisdictional commitments or data sharing.