The National Weather Service issued a ‘Freezing Fog Advisory‘ Sunday afternoon, warning residents to be careful on the roads, as visibility will be low and the roads may be icy.

The Weather Peeps say that conditions may be hazardous through 10 a.m. Monday morning (Dec. 12).

Here’s the full statement:

… Freezing fog advisory in effect from 10 PM this evening to 10 am PST Monday…

* Visibility… local visibilities below a half mile in fog.

* Temperatures… widespread temperatures at or below freezing tonight.

* Timing… late this evening through mid morning on Monday.

* Impacts… areas of freezing mist and fog may cause ice to form in spots on roadways… bridges… and sidewalks overnight.

Precautionary/preparedness actions…

A freezing fog advisory means visibilities will frequently be reduced to less than one quarter mile. If driving… slow down… use your headlights… and leave plenty of distance ahead of you. Also… be alert for frost on bridge decks causing slippery roads.

The City of Burien announced Thursday (Jan. 20th) that it will be closing a section of Ambaum Blvd. for construction work on Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 25th and 26th.

A one-block section of Ambaum, just south of SW 116th Street (see map below) will be closed for repair work of the storm drainage system. Short detours will be set up in both directions, with police officers directing traffic. Vehicles will be directed east to 12th Ave. S. on SW 116th St. and SW 118th St. to bypass the construction area.

Metro buses that service Ambaum Boulevard also will use the detour.

The road work and closure on Ambaum is weather-permitting; it will be postponed in the event of rain.

Ambaum will be reopened on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 27th and 28th, but will be down to one lane in both directions at SW 122nd Street because of continued storm drainage work.

The traffic disruptions will move south on Ambaum in the weeks and months ahead as construction on the storm drainage system and sidewalks continue south to SW 156th Street.

View Larger Map

Next Tuesday (Aug. 10), the Washington State Department of Transportation’s new, high-tech “Smarter Highways” signs will light up above nearby northbound I-5.

The WSDOT says in a statement that these signs will “automatically alert drivers to change lanes when an incident blocks traffic or to adjust their speed before reaching slower-moving traffic. The new signs will help reduce rear-end collisions, allow for earlier escape to alternate routes and smooth lane shifting caused by incidents like stalls or collisions.”

“We’re asking drivers to get familiar with Smarter Highways ahead of time so they know what to do when the sign above their lane shows a yellow arrow or a reduced speed limit,” said Patty Rubstello, WSDOT Systems Engineer. “This is new technology for us and the United States, so we know it will be a big change for drivers.”

The WSDOT is also encouraging drivers to boost their Smarter Highways knowledge:

• Visit the Smarter Highways website here: www.smarterhighways.com
• Watch the four-minute Smarter Highways video here.
• Visit the I-5 Smarter Highways project website here.
• Look at photos of the high-tech signs on Flickr here.
• Talk about Smarter Highways on the WSDOT blog here.

WSDOT traffic engineers have rigorously tested the Smarter Highways on I-5 since May to ensure the complex system of traffic sensors, electronic signs and fiber optic are ready to activate.

“Getting Smarter Highways up and running is more than plugging in signs and flipping a switch,” said Rubstello “We need to make sure all system parts run together like clockwork.”

Installing Smarter Highways on I-5 will help keep people and goods moving during construction to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The I-5 project is funded through WSDOT’s Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program.

Drivers will use Smarter Highways on three of Washington’s busiest corridors. The locations and activation dates are:

• Northbound I-5 between Boeing Access Road and I-90 on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010
• SR 520 between I-5 and 130th Avenue NE in Bellevue in fall 2010
• I-90 between I-5 and 150th Avenue SE in Bellevue in spring 2011

Here’s what the signs look like:

Photo courtesy WSDOT.

To learn more about WSDOT’s new program, visit: www.smarterhighways.com.

Twenty-three area police departments in King County (including Burien) will “inundate” area roads, highways, and interstates with extra police patrols targeting speeding drivers beginning this Friday (July 16) and continuing through Aug. 1 as part of the statewide “Slow down or pay up” campaign.

The campaign’s goal is to eliminate deaths and serious injuries from traffic crashes in Washington by the year 2030.

“Speeding may seem like a quick and effective shortcut, but in fact it is a leading cause of traffic deaths and injuries in King County and Washington State,” said Dr. David Fleming, Director and Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County. “Speed-related crashes harm individuals, families, and communities, and many people hurt in these crashes suffer life altering trauma and never recover fully.”

The emphasis patrols over the next month are a key component of the Strategic Highway Safety Plan: Target Zero. The vision of Target Zero is zero deaths and serious injuries from traffic crashes in Washington by the year 2030. The Washington Traffic Safety Commission funds the extra patrols.

According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, from 2006 – 2008, speeding drivers killed 140 people in King County crashes, an average of four deaths a month. These speeding-involved crashes accounted for 44% of traffic deaths in King County for that period.

The following police agencies in King County will conduct “Slow down or pay up” patrols:

1. Auburn
2. Bellevue
3. Black Diamond
4. Burien
5. Des Moines
6. Federal Way
7. Issaquah
8. Kent
9. Kirkland
10. Maple Valley
11. Mercer Island
12. Newcastle
13. Normandy Park
14. North Bend
15. Pacific
16. Redmond
17. Renton
18. Sammamish
19. SeaTac
20. Seattle
21. Snoqualmie
22. Tukwila
23. Washington State Patrol District 2

“Enforcing traffic laws saves lives,” said Lieutenant Nick Almquist, Redmond Police Department, Traffic Unit. “From north to south and east to west, police departments are working together to enforce speed limits and make King County roads safer.”

“Driving is a complex skill, demanding your complete attention,” said Cesi Velez, South King County Target Zero Manager, Kent Police Department. “Slow down and watch for sudden stops when traffic is heavy or the road has limited sight distance. Avoid tailgating by leaving a car’s length between you and the car in front of you for every 10mph you’re traveling. Road conditions and weather may also require a driver to slow down.”

Public Health- Seattle & King County chairs and staffs the King County Target Zero Task Force (previously known as the King County Traffic Safety Coalition). Members include representatives from a variety of King County law enforcement agencies, the Washington State Liquor Control Board, alcohol and drug prevention organizations, traffic engineers, non-profit organizations, and others. The Washington State Traffic Safety Commission provides funding for the coalition and other King County traffic safety activities.

Starting this Thursday (June 10), police agencies around the state will begin enforcing Washington’s newly-revised law restricting vehicle drivers from talking or texting while driving.

The revised law, with the catchy slogan “Text. Talk. Ticket.” (I bet the same person who came up with “Clickit or Ticket” wrote this one) makes texting or improper cell phone use primary offenses, meaning that drivers can be pulled over for those violations alone. It also prohibits the use of electronic devices by younger drivers with an Intermediate Driver’s License or Learner’s Permit, with or without a hands-free device.

Normandy Park Police Chief Rick Kieffer said “Distracted driving is a serous threat to everyone on the road. Normandy Park Police will follow the Washington State Patrols policy of strict enforcement.”

Tickets are $124 and could be more if your distracted driving causes a collision.

Here’s more info from the Washington State Patrol:

How will WSP enforce the changes?

“If you’re holding the phone to your ear, you’re likely to be stopped,” said Captain Chris Gundermann of the state patrol’s field operations bureau. “We will be flexible with virtually any type of headset or speakerphone device, but holding the phone itself to your ear will get our attention.”

Since 2008 the law has prohibited drivers from texting while driving, and required those talking on cell phones to use hands free devices. However, the earlier version of the law was “secondary” meaning that officers had to see a different violation in order to make the traffic stop.

Gundermann noted that those with hearing aids are exempt, as are those reporting an emergency to 9-1-1. Troopers will inquire about exemptions once the person has been pulled over.”

“No ticket is automatic. If the person has a hearing aid or is calling 9-1-1, we’ll get them quickly on their way,” he said

Texting can be harder for troopers to spot, because the unit is normally held lower than when talking on a cell phone. Gundermann says studies show that those reading or sending a text message take their eyes off the road for up to five seconds.

“We’ll be looking for people who clearly aren’t watching the road. We’ve had a couple years to practice spotting this behavior and can usually tell when someone is texting. Sooner or later the phone comes up high enough that we can see it and make the stop.”

At the Department of Licensing, Director Liz Luce is urging parents to help with enforcement of the complete ban on electronic devices for those with intermediate licenses.

“Responsibility starts at home, so I ask parents to have a conversation with their teen drivers, because the consequences of distracted driving can be deadly,” Luce said.

Statistics have long shown that younger drivers make up a disproportionate number of those injured or killed on the highway.

“A cell phone in the car is one of the most dangerous things a teen driver can have. Come June 10, teen drivers with intermediate licenses aren’t permitted to use their cell phones at all, with or without a hands-free device, unless they’re reporting an emergency.”

Multiple traffic violations on an intermediate driver license can lead to suspension and even an extension of the intermediate license restrictions until the driver turns 21.

Safety experts recommend people not talk on the phone at all while driving, pointing out that the conversation itself is a distraction.

“Ideally, we would like to see all drivers save their phone conversations for later and concentrate on the road. Study after study has demonstrated that talking on the phone while driving seriously impairs your awareness and ability to react,” said Lowell Porter, executive director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

The Commission also has announced its new slogan to help people stay safe: Text, Talk, Ticket.

The Washington State Patrol is reporting that a Normandy Park woman is lucky to be alive today (Wed., June 2) after her windshield was struck by a tire while she was driving on Interstate 5 in Tukwila.

According to WSP, the woman was northbound in her 2002 Honda Accord in the right lane near the Duwamish curves when a southbound truck lost its left front tire while traveling freeway speeds. The tire came across the median and impacted the Honda’s windshield on the driver’s side. The woman calmly pulled to the right shoulder and waited for help to arrive. Fortunately the driver only suffered minor injuries from shattered glass.

A Normandy Park woman is lucky to be alive after her car was struck by a loose truck tire.

The cause of the tire failure is under investigation.

WSP also wants to remind drivers to check their vehicle equipment often to ensure all safety standards are met.

by Jack Mayne

Instead of reaping a massive windfall profit from the red light cameras on First Avenue, it appears the City of Burien may actually have lost $16,574 during the program’s first ten and a half months.

Many readers of The B-Town Blog have said in comments that the primary reason for the red light violation cameras was to raise money.

Not true said city officials and it proves true in figures released by the city. How is this possible?

The big winner is Redflex, the Arizona company that owns the cameras and operates them under contract with the city. Burien has paid the company $204,012 from May 2009 through April 2010. The city’s contract with Redflex is for $19,400 a month (the first month was less for Redflex because the program did not start until the middle of May, 2009).

The numbers are preliminary said Lori Fleming, Burien’s contract analyst handling the project, because the city and the district court adjudicating the red light citations meets once a year to adjust its costs. That meeting is slated for later this month, said Fleming.

The current estimate used by the city to figure costs is $10 per ticket or $43,590 for the 4,359 tickets issued.

Here are the numbers from the city:

• 4,359 tickets issued from May 2009 through March 2010.
• Total revenue from the District Court is $231,028 for the same period.

So subtract Redflex’s contract costs totaling $204,012 and the district court costs of $43,590 and Burien has lost $16,574. Fleming says that court cost may change when the city and the court reconcile the court’s actual costs later this month.

What is Redflex?
Burien contracted with Redflex to install and monitor all five camera locations. There are cameras monitoring First Avenue South at Southwest 148th Street, First Avenue South at Southwest 152nd Street and First Avenue South at Southwest 160th Street.

According to the company website, Redflex:

“…shares the same vision as your community: to reduce the risk for tragedy on the road. Over time, Redflex technology has proven to make an impact on public safety. Results show road safety cameras have helped create safer U.S. communities, from those of a few thousand residents, where red light running has been reduced at a single intersection, to statewide freeways where more drivers are keeping a better eye on their speedometers.”

It has contracts for electronic enforcement around the world, including in Seattle and British Columbia.

Many cities have faced losing money on the contracts, including several in California. The company itself says it has lost money since the recession began.

Fleming said there have been preliminary discussions with Redflex officials about reducing the $19,400 monthly fee, and she noted the company appeared willing to discuss changes.

The word is out that you don't just go racing through our intersections anymore..." - City Manager Mike Martin.

Speed, not money
City Manager Mike Martin said the “whole idea” of the five cameras at three intersections was never to make money but to slow down the speed on First Avenue, where traffic problems have multiplied in recent years.

“The word is out that you don’t just go racing through our intersections anymore,” he told The B-Town Blog.

Burien Police Chief Scott Kimerer also says the cameras were to slow traffic and reduce accidents. When asked about the program, he said, “it is not a money maker.”

“If we wanted only to make money, that means we would want people to run red lights, and that causes accidents,” Kimerer said.

“That doesn’t make any sense from a law enforcement standpoint. We don’t want people to get hurt.”

The chief said there have been no accidents at the three intersections that were caused by motorists stopping changing lights or traceable to the cameras. There have been some sideswipe accidents but they might have been the result of changes made in left turn lanes and other street reconfigurations.

Kimerer did say there have been some rear-end accidents, five or less over a year’s time. Some residents suggest this is because drivers slammed on their brakes rather than enter the intersection as the light changes to yellow.

“I don’t know if (cameras) are the cause of that or not,” he said.

Kimerer dismissed questions about the potential that the yellow light timing may have been shortened to catch more violators and says the city Public Works department says the lights are set to national standards.

An illegal camera?
Some B-Town Blog readers question the legality of the cameras at First Avenue South at Southwest 160th Street and Ambaum Way. The state law permitting use of the cameras reads, “Use of automated traffic safety cameras is restricted to two-arterial intersections, railroad crossings, and school speed zones only.”

But there are three arterials at that intersection: SW 160th, Ambaum and First Avenue. The city does identify Ambaum at the intersection a “collector arterial,” which seems only to cloud the problem.

Chief Kimerer says “you can read into that law that you can only put these cameras where there are at least two arterials, there can’t be one arterial, there has to be two arterials. But then maybe it can be more.

“Those are legal questions and, to be honest, we hire a company to come in and put these cameras in. We expect, since they have experience in this state, we are going with that they are aware of the laws, that they are aware of where they can and cannot place these.” The chief says, “As far as I know, we have not lost any cases because they have challenged that intersection (in court).”

City Manager Martin says it appears the city did not specifically research that question when drafting the agreement with Redflex and that the city depends on Redflex, as the experienced camera provider, to have made the determination prior to installing the cameras at 160th.
Redflex commented via e-mail.

“In response to your question, the intersection at First Ave and S. 160th St are in fact arterial roadways that intersect,” said the Redflex response. “The other intersecting roadway, however, at Ambaum Blvd S. is a residential feeder and not an ‘arterial roadway’ therefore it does not appear to violate the statute.”

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will be closing northbound I-5 between the Boeing Access Road and I-90 over the next three weekend nights, so they can install some 95 high-tech “Smarter Highways” readerboard signs.

The new signs, being introduced first on northbound I-5 then on SR-520 this summer are the latest smarter highway technology aimed at increasing safety, reducing collisions and reducing congestion. To learn more, visit the project Web site: www.smarterhighways.com.

Crews will close northbound I-5 between Boeing Access Road and Spokane Street beginning at 11:59 p.m. on the following nights:

• Friday, April 16
• Saturday, April 17
• Friday, April 23
• Saturday, April 24
• Friday, April 30
• Saturday, May 1

Signed detours will be in place to guide drivers northbound on Airport Way and back to I-5. Drivers should expect delays or take alternate routes.

Here’s a mockup photo of what the new signs will look like:

Photos courtesy WSDOT.

For more details visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/ActiveTrafficManagement/map.htm.

by Scott Schaefer

According to The Olympian, on Tuesday (March 2), a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging that 18 Washington cities, including Burien, were charging too much for traffic violations caught by red light cameras.

This means that all Washington state cities with red light cameras will be able to continue charging their current fines, many of which are set at $101 and above.

The “order of dismissal” was issued by U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle, and this ends a lawsuit in which more than 40 drivers claimed that fines issued from red light cameras exceeded the amount intended by state law.

As we’ve previously reported, attorneys for the plaintiffs were seeking class-action status over a 2005 law that says traffic-camera fines “shall not exceed the amount of the fine issued for other parking infractions within the jurisdiction,” according to the complaint.

Burien has five red light cameras, which have been up and running since last March, and according to a city e-newsletter, were averaging “around 540 infractions per month” back in October 2009 – equaling a projected gross of over $654,000 in its first year of operation.

Burien currently sends out a $101 fine for red light infractions, with five cameras operating at these three intersections (see map below):

• 1st Avenue South at SW 148th Street
• 1st Avenue South at SW 152nd Street
• 1st Avenue South at SW 160th Street

The camera earning the most money currently is the westbound one at SW 148th Street and 1st Ave South, which (as of Oct. 2009) generated about 35% of the total infractions, or 189 per month (just over 6 per day), equals to a monthly gross of $19,089 – or more than $229,000 annually, which on its own surpasses the original citywide $200k projection.

The cameras operate 24 hours a day and capture still photos and video of every vehicle that runs a red light at the intersection. After being processed by manufacturer RedFlex, the videos are accessed by Burien police through a website, where they are analyzed by an officer who decides whether or not to send out a ticket.

Other cities named in the lawsuit included:

• Auburn
• Bellevue
• Bonney Lake
• Bremerton
• Federal Way
• Fife
• Issaquah
• Lacey
• Lake Forest Park
• Lakewood
• Lynnwood
• Puyallup
• Renton
• SeaTac
• Seattle
• Spokane
• Tacoma

So, to all your speeders out there – don’t expect any reduction in red light camera fines.

And to the City of Burien (and all other cities with these device$) – let’s hope you put the massive revenues from this semi-automatic “cash cow” to good use during these economic times.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against 19 Cities, Including Burien, Over Red Light Camera Fines
• Burien’s Red Light Cameras On Track To Gross Over $654,000 In First Year, Nearly 3x Projected Revenue
• Burien’s Red Light Camera Citations Are “In The Mail”
• City Official Addresses Red Light Camera Concerns
• Red Light Cams Go Live Sun.;To Bring In $200k In 1st Year?
• Burien Speeders Beware: Red Light Cameras Start Mar. 1st

The Washington State Department of Transportation wants folks to be aware that all lanes of northbound I-5 at SR-599 in Tukwila will be closed tonight (Tues., Jan. 19th) beginning at 11:30pm and continuing until 4:30am Wednesday morning.

Drivers will be detoured off I-5 onto SR-599 and will return to northbound I-5 via the Boeing Access Road.

The following ramps will also be closed from 11:30pm to 4:30am:

• Eastbound SR 518 to northbound I-5
• Interurban Avenue S. to northbound I-5

The closure will allow crews to install a new sign bridge.

Here’s a map of the area: