New traffic cameras go live in Moses Lake Sept. 30

MOSES LAKE — The new additions to Moses Lake’s traffic camera system will be up and running in the city this weekend.

The city council previously approved the addition of two cameras north and south on North Stratford Road at the Walmart and Winco private drive and two more cameras north and south on South Pioneer Way at East Hill Avenue in early 2018. There were some delays over the months in getting the equipment installed and up and running, but Moses Lake Police Department Chief Kevin Fuhr says the cameras will be live and issuing tickets starting on Sunday.

“By Walmart we have a lot of crashes and so we are hoping to reduce that. And at Hill and Pioneer, actually, the data shows, there is a lot of people that run that light,” Fuhr told the Columbia Basin Herald.

Back in January Fuhr told the council a 12-hour video survey was done at the two intersections by Redflex Systems, which showed a total of 73 violations at the Stratford Road/Walmart and Winco private drive location and 78 violations at the Pioneer/Hill intersection.

The chief also previously explained four studies from reputable sources determined traffic cameras at intersections can reduce traffic-related fatalities, due to the risk of side and front impact being reduced. The cameras can lead to an increase in rear-end collisions however, due to drivers stopping at yellow lights and getting rear-ended in the process.

Moses Lake first contracted with Redflex in 2006 and had two cameras installed at the North Stratford Road/West Valley Road intersection. Three more cameras were added to the system over the years at the East Broadway Avenue/South Alder Street intersection and on South Pioneer Way between East Nelson Road and Sharon Avenue. Additional costs associated with adding the new cameras to the system are paid by the system itself through citations that are issued.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.