Tacoma’s on track to get more red-light and speed cameras. Good | Opinion
I was driving down Pacific Avenue to meet a friend at Wapato Park when traffic in front of me suddenly slowed down. After I checked traffic conditions and saw no reason for the hold up, I changed lanes and got back up to speed.
Boy, was I wrong. Several days later, I got a ticket in the mail for breaking the 20 mph speed limit in the school zone in front of Stewart Middle School.
I felt like a bonehead. Safe driving is a huge priority for me, and I’m not confused as to why traffic should slow down when a bunch of youths are crossing a major road. I’ve lectured my kids, who won’t drive for years, on why going too fast makes driving less safe.
But I’m also a human who makes mistakes. The dent in my wallet seemed to rewire my brain, and I now automatically watch for that flashing school zone sign before I’m fully aware that I need to.
That’s all to say, I’m glad to hear that Tacoma City Council passed an ordinance on Tuesday to update and expand its automated traffic-camera program.
Drawing on new authorities created by state law, the council voted to increase the maximum fine from an automated traffic-camera violation from $124 to $145. (If it’s a first-time violation for a Tacoma resident on public assistance, they can get the fine reduced by half. All residents can also access payment plans.)
Areas with parks and hospitals will also become eligible for automated traffic cameras, just like schools zones are now. On top of that, the law lets Tacoma install more speed cameras outside special zones. Funds from the cameras must go toward covering the program’s cost and then to traffic-safety improvements. The city is creating a task force to set the standard for choosing future sites for automated traffic cameras.
City Council members said they based their decision partly on data showing that most people who receive tickets from automated traffic cameras don’t live near the locations where the citations occur.
Council member Sandesh Sadalge, who represents Tacoma’s District 4, said in a statement that he was skeptical of the camera program at first, but the data convinced him.
“Most violators are visitors who are cutting through our communities,” he said, “and my district has a large number of these types of corridors.”
In fact, nearly two thirds of those caught by automated traffic cameras during the first 10 months of 2025 drove in from out of town, according to the city’s data. But more than anything, the cameras changed people’s behavior. Of the people who got caught once by the automated traffic cameras, 88% didn’t re-offend in Tacoma.
Automated traffic enforcement is a necessary pain
Boo all you want. The cameras work.
I’m not saying I loved getting my ticket. I felt angry when I saw how much I’d have to pay. The strain it put on my budget would have been much worse for someone with fewer resources than I had at the time. That’s still true with the availability of a discount or a payment plan. The reality is that those kinds of exemptions tend to require homework for people who are often already under stress.
It’s just that preventing serious injury and death is more important. The pain of that ticket is nonexistent compared to the pain I would both cause and feel myself if I, for example, hit a pedestrian or cyclist.
According to a study by the Federal Highway Administration, red-light cameras reduce right-angle crashes. Those are bad enough. But the fact is that high speeds and reckless behavior at intersections are especially dangerous for “vulnerable road users.” That’s the term for people who aren’t encased in metal while using the road. In addition to cyclists and people on foot, they include road workers, wheelchair users, motorcyclists, even horse riders.
Those kinds of accidents can have a high cost to taxpayers. Collisions involving speeding drivers and pedestrians were a huge contributor to the millions of dollars in legal settlements the City of Tacoma has agreed to pay out this year.
I also understand privacy concerns that people might have about any kind of camera facing traffic. In October, University of Washington researchers announced findings that U.S. Border Patrol accessed automated license-plate reader systems in Pierce County and around the state. That was despite state law forbidding local agencies from providing those images to federal immigration authorities.
Right now, it appears Tacoma is on top of who can access images from its automated traffic-camera system, which is operated by a private firm called NovoaGlobal. The city has to clear any data sharing in advance, said Eric Huseby, a subject-matter expert on automated traffic camera enforcement at Tacoma’s Public Works Department. The public can only access camera records to contest a citation.
Meanwhile, the need for the cameras is clear. We urge pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users to exercise caution, as we should. But unsafe driving is vastly more dangerous to them than the people in the speeding cars. It can easily take their lives even when they’re doing everything right.
Automated traffic cameras move some of this risk from vulnerable street users onto drivers. A higher risk of paying a ticket isn’t the same as the risk of injury or death. But it’s still motivation to slow down.
