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Bellevue council directs staff to prepare code change and pick seven sites for speed cameras in 2026
Summary
After hearing data showing a rise in serious injury crashes, council directed staff to finalize a code amendment and a resolution deeming seven high-crash locations suitable for speed safety cameras, with staff promising a 30-day warning period before tickets are issued and an equity and privacy analysis consistent with state law.
Bellevue transportation and police staff presented a data-driven case for expanding the city’s speed-safety camera program and asked the council to direct staff to prepare an ordinance and a resolution identifying initial camera locations.
Assistant Chief Papachuk told council that city data show 232 people seriously injured and 22 fatalities between 2015 and 2024; he said 2024 included "2 fatalities and 34 serious injury crashes." Staff described a three-step screening process that started with 95 candidate locations and advanced 37 high-scoring sites; staff recommended selecting seven sites for an initial 2026 rollout because they are actionable next year and broadly distributed across neighborhoods to avoid overburdening any single community.
Staff explained how state law now requires net camera revenues to be dedicated to traffic-safety projects, allows civilian review of citations, increases state reporting requirements, and requires a safety-and-equity analysis for placement decisions. Staff also outlined privacy protections: cameras only trigger on speeding events, do not capture driver or passenger faces, and fines are smaller than typical officer-issued tickets (with a 50% reduction available for people on public assistance).
Council members expressed support for a program that is part of the city’s Vision Zero strategy but pressed staff on community engagement, data reporting, enforcement spillover to side streets, and where camera revenue would be directed. Council voted to direct staff to finalize the ordinance and accompanying resolution and return for final action.
Next steps: staff will prepare the code amendment, complete procurement for a vendor, implement a public awareness campaign with a 30-day warning period at each camera site, and return to council with the ordinance and a resolution approving the seven locations for final action.
