But the city suspended photo enforcement in school zones last year, and the councilman who leads the public safety committee sees no need to use cameras to nab school-zone speeders or red-light runners – at least for now.

“I think the visit clarified for us that if in the future we countenance a red-light or school camera system, we know we have had people who have been to the contractors,” said Councilman Dave King. “We will have more confidence in our decision.”

King joined Municipal Court Administrator Darlene Gregg and police traffic officer Vince Sainati for the trip. They left Monday for Scottsdale and returned the next afternoon. It cost about $1,600.

One Bonney Lake resident publicly questioned the need for the taxpayer-supported travel. At a council study session last week, Pat Miller asked why the city couldn’t simply check with Puget Sound-area cities that already use the companies.

Officials defended the trip as a way to see firsthand if the two camera enforcement contractors – Redflex Traffic Systems and American Traffic Solutions, both of Scottsdale – have the procedures, staffing and business plan to handle Bonney Lake’s enforcement needs.

Police Chief Mike Mitchell said the city is still smarting over its last experience with a camera cop supplier. Last fall the city canceled its contract with Nestor Traffic Systems to monitor three school speed zones with a roving camera van.

Lots of tickets were issued, Mitchell said, but there were delays in processing them. Some drivers were cited twice for the same violation, and backlogs clogged the court.

The city and police began having second thoughts about using cameras in school zones. They didn’t turn them on this school year.

The city took other steps to improve safety, such as deploying a second mobile radar van to alert drivers of their speed and installing flashing lights near three schools to warn drivers when the 20 mph speed zone is in effect.

A city study of school zones found that the average car speed was 19.8 mph.

The city hasn’t given up completely on the cameras, which are growing in popularity among Puget Sound-area cities. Lakewood pioneered them for the state several years ago, Tacoma and Auburn have cameras, and Puyallup activated them at three intersections earlier this year.

King said Friday that Miller’s question about the need for the Arizona trip was a valid one since the photo-enforcement companies already operate in this area. The experience with the previous contractor, however, was discouraging, he said.

“We got stung, and rightfully so, for not doing our homework with Nestor,” he said. “I was suspicious Redflex and ATS wouldn’t be much better than Nestor.”

Those three companies are the major providers of traffic enforcement technology in the U.S., he said.

King said the trip gave him assurance that both Redflex and ATS could do the job, if called upon. “We walked through and interviewed people,” he said.

Gregg said she had several questions answered by watching the processes first-hand.

Both companies looked at the city’s traffic data and said they would do their own traffic surveys.

King said he will recommend to his public safety committee that the traffic situation in school zones doesn’t justify the installation of cameras.

Whether to mount them at red-light intersections along Highway 410 is still an open question, he said. But with all the construction along the highway, he said, now isn’t the time to do it.

Mike Archbold: 253-597-8692