Neighbors protest lot split
Happy 106th, Doris!
I agree with Come On, and contest it is exactly what Im going to do. Cameras = Robo Cops and I for one am pissed off. Now Im forced to pay the city because I was going 27 in a 25. These cameras should be illegal.
Now, I am fine if you just want to criticize me and say pay your ticket! because the camera said I was speeding, but in my opinion there are these deeper more concerning questions here that we should all be talking more about, and are more important than whether I deserve a ticket or not.
The burn ban is BACK
Another tip is to contest the ticket by saying you saw emergency lights behind you and were attempting to get out of the way.
I was roundly criticized when I posted in the forums about the van camera at 35th and OLG and the ticket i received. Many have Cjboffolis belief that if you do the crime, you do the time. Whether you agree with that sentiment or not, I think there are sschool zoneome very pressing broad questions associated with this kind of policing that we should all be asking ourselves:
- When I got the ticket my main concern was that this wasnt a cop stopping me and showing me how he had come up with my speed, it was a camera on a vanand I think this raises interesting questions about technology and how much we trust it, especially at 189 a pop. Maybe many of you think this is MORE reliable than a human. I, personally, do not.
Not a n of ticket cams who is but Seattleites are shockingly casual about their speeds in school zones, generally speaking.
The people that are working the system are theropod who dreamed this up. Red light and speeding cameras were suppose to cost the same as a parking ticket according to the legislature. But instead of the standard fee of $30-40 for a parking ticket they interpreted the law to include such parking tickets as not having a handicap permit and parking in a handicap zone. Thus allowing the city to charge $150-250 per infraction. Without charging the higher amount the city wouldnt be any money on the cameras. Thats working the system. And completely against what the legislature intended.
What WS riders told Metro
How is contesting a ticket working the system? We still have a presumption of innocence in this country. The burden of proof lies with the state to make a case that I did in ct committ an infraction. It is your right to contest their evidence and present your own case. Youre not working the system youre embracing it.
Sanislo teachers oppose MAP
I got my $189 ticket at Gatewood on December 12 a little after 3:00 pm. I was clocked at 30. I would swear the light was not flashing and there were no kids around. If the light was flashing, I would think that the picture they sent me should show some blur around the lights just like car lights in the picture have a light aura around them. It took me several calls but finally I got to SPD Traffic who explained the power source for the camera is only on when the flashing light is on. At Gatewoood that is 7:55 to 8:55 and 2:35 to 3:35.
Be very aware of the S.T.E.M. school zone on Delridge. There are NO FLASHING LIGHTS, just a sign that says school zone 20 mph when children are present. I was driving by (37 mph) on a Thursday at 9:30 am. and was pulled over and ticketed. Apparently this school starts late (9:20). Algthough I mitigiated this $189 fine by mail, arguing no flashing lights or school times on the sign, it was not dismissed or even reduced. I am all for slowing down to 20 mph in school zones, however, in all irness, they must be clearly marked, especially with such a late start time! Perhaps the city can give all the money they collect from unknowing school zone speeders and give it to this school to buy proper lights and signage?
If every single person requested a court date and contested all tickets given by red light and speed cameras they would be gone in a week. The courts cant handle even if a fifth were contested. Contest them all. Make it cost the city more to prosecute your case than what they will get from you in fees. And watch what happens to the its for public safety traffic cameras.
The sign in that area relates to the speed van, which has been in use along 35th and Fauntleroy among other places (including outside WS) WSfor more than four years,school245.typepad.com. off and on, as noted in our original coverage of the Gatewood camera announcement. There is no fixed camera there the Gatewood (Fauntleroy Way) camera is the ONLY fixed one in WS TR
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Delridge council: Paving; projects
I was surprised not to see the school zone on 35th at OLOG Catholic school mentioned on the list. I didnt see them mentioned here on the blog or on the Seattle Times article. They have a sign saying that cameras are in use. Does anyone know if cameras are in use here or are the signs just meant as a deterrent?
My guess is that the information we received from WSB increased local awareness of speed cams and therefore many adjusted their driving habits by Gatewood. We are definitely a very informed community compared to others.
Slow down, board2447.typepad.com people. I recently saw a woman blow through a red light at the Layette school crossing at Lander because she was apparently texting.
-How many children have been hit in school zones in Seattle in recent years? I have absolutely no issue with penalties to stop certain behavior, but at OLG kids dont even load on 35th so sometimes it feels like the City is using this hammer protect the kids! as an excuse to create a revenue generate enough surveillance.
Traffic is what saves me. Even though there is a bright orange flashing light advising that you entering a school zone, I find it easy to miss when heading southbound. Something about how it is right at the end of a corner and kind of high on the pole. If I werent almost always behind someone that does see it and remembers to slowdown Id probably have a couple of tickets by now too.
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And as r as red light tickets, that is a scam. Especially the one at 35th &href= title= abbr title= acronym title= b blockquote cite= cite code del datetime= em i q cite= strike strong
Its only relative if you also know the total number of cars that drove past the cameras at each location and didnt get a ticket. Then calculate the percentage of cars who did and use that for comparison.
Morgan talks Lowman, bikes
I have noticed a huge difference in speeds at OLG school zone since 2 years ago which makes me think the cameras are a difference.
Congratulations, Mr. Reed!
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Speed Limits are artificially low and have zero to do with safety and 100% to do with revenue generation. Speed enforcement has become a tax. Im all for clogging the system and doing everything we can to eliminate this unjust tax on the middle class.
Children and other pedestrians in school zones dont have flashing lights on them. Nor are there signs warning you where they specifically are. So instead of excuses and forming plans to work the system to avoid acting like a responsible adult,free desktop themes downloads. I happen to think that obeying the law and the speed limit is still the best way to go.
You know what would really teach the city a lesson? Drive the posted speed limit through the school zones and show them that they dont need cameras. You wouldnt even need to be pissed off and calling for mass contesting of tickets.
- If the City can make a million a month on this type of survelilence what is next? What about jay walking? What about smoking near a business?
And the idea of cameras monitoring us all over the City kind of just creeps me out.
So challenge every damn one of the tickets. And when the city starts losing money on each infraction watch what happens to the cameras.
Are West Seattleites more law-abiding than drivers in the other three areas of the city with speed-ticket cameras in school zones? Our partners at The Seattle Times have a story tonight with the numbers from the first almost-two-weeks of ticketing by the Fauntleroy Way camera near Gatewood Elementary and three others elsewhere in the city; the West Seattle camera was responsible for 435, the lowest total, less than a third of the 1,510 tickets attributed to the camera near Thurgood Marshall Elementary.
cjboffoli Wouldnt it be safer for the kids if drivers had their eyes on the road and not on their speedometer?
