RSS
Share
Forum Home | Feed Tacoma | Requests / Feedback
Speed cameras coming
 by Joe TS on 9/15/2009 @ 5:54pm |
The first speed ticketing camera is coming to Tacoma. It will be on Bay street coming into town from River Road. Three more are slated to be installed in school zones. One camera will be at Stewart Middle in the 5200 Pacific area, another will be at McCarver Elementary in the 2300 block of 'J' St, and the third will be at Downing Elementary in the 2600 block of Orchard. These are different from the existing red light cameras in that they are not tied to a traffic signal and are triggered strictly by speed. |
 by jenyum on 9/15/2009 @ 9:47pm | I have no problem with speed cameras in school zones, but it is kind of funny that there's one going in at Orchard right next to the police station. I think it would probably be better at 21st and Alder or somewhere in the 8-10 blocks leading up to Lowell.
|
 by KevinFreitas on 9/15/2009 @ 10:07pm | I totally understand speed cameras and their purpose but I still say it's unfair for authorities to deploy robots to do their job when I can't yet deploy robots to do the driving for me. Not a level playing field. |
by jenyum on 9/15/2009 @ 10:12pm | I refuse to accept that robots have any utility at all until I get my laundry robot. |
 by NineInchNachos on 9/15/2009 @ 10:13pm | The city may as well be printing money.
stick it to the man, start riding your bicycle! |
 by fredo on 9/15/2009 @ 10:27pm | How about a camera to catch bicyclists riding without a helmet, riding on the sidewalk, or failing to signal? |
 by JesseHillFan on 9/15/2009 @ 10:32pm | I read an interesting story about a bunch of teenagers who had a gripe against their high school teachers.What they did was to take a camera and take pictures of their teachers license plate numbers.Then the prankster kids printed out duplicates on their computer printers using photo paper.The teenagers then taped the fake license plate photo over regular license plates on cars similar to the teachers and then proceeded to blast through many photo enforcement cameras.Days later the targeted teachers got numerous traffic violation tickets in their mail.
Wouldn't it be a laugh (and karma) if something like this happened to city council members and mayors around the country. |
by fredo on 9/16/2009 @ 12:35am | So if someone gets a speeding ticket under this arrangement, all they have to do to get the ticket dismissed is claim that someone hates them and staged the whole thing? |
 by tacoma1 on 9/16/2009 @ 8:47am | If you've ever seen one of those photos from these types of cameras, they take a couple angles, one is a zoom in for a close up on the license plate, and the other is a wider angle of the car.
It would be pretty hard to claim staging. The evidence is pretty darn solid. |
by fredo on 9/16/2009 @ 9:53am | read jhfs posting of 9/15. they placed copies of the teacher's plates on similar cars. what difference does it make how many pictures you've got? the pictures taken provide nothing more than a rebuttable presumption. |
by tacoma1 on 9/16/2009 @ 10:03am | I read it before, but the zoomed in photo shows the license plate clearly, and in detail. It would be obvious that the license plate had been altered. |
 by narndt on 9/16/2009 @ 11:47am | I'm with RR. I'm car free and sticking it to the man every day. And I agree with you, @fredo. I wish TPD would enforce all rules regarding bicycles very strictly. I'm not such a big fan of helmet laws, but I see more dangerous bicycling in Tacoma than safe bicycling. When I see someone breaking the law (like so many in Tacoma who ride against traffic), I always say something. But to them I'm probably just some stuck-up jerk. If TPD would enforce the rules, then maybe folks would be forced to get educated about bikes and then everyone would be safer. |
 by Thorax O'Tool on 9/16/2009 @ 4:19pm | Speed and red light cameras do nothing for public safety. They only serve as a means to take your $ and put it in the city's pocket... that's why those tickets say "pay it and it won't go on your record". I don't play that BS game. If I can't avoid an intersection with a camera, I will not take my free right turn. I will wait until it's green. I will not go thru the intersection if it's yellow. I stop, regardless of how many people honk at me. And now with these speed cameras, I won't go down those streets... I'll take side streets. I don't like this big brother type society. I hope those cameras get vandalized repeatedly and the pieces sent in a nice box to whoever in the city approved them. |
by JesseHillFan on 9/16/2009 @ 8:07pm | I also avoid any streets with cameras.I agree with Thorax O'Tool.
It's just a money grab.Remember now cameras don't like LASER's blinding them (Dazzling).Also camera's don't like oil based paint on their lenses either.LASER's are FUN! |
 by Nick on 9/17/2009 @ 8:43am | Yeah, there's just something about all these cameras that I just don't like. Part of me thinks, if you're speeding in a school zone, you probably deserve a ticket. At the same time, I can't put my finger on it, but achieving this with speed cameras just doesn't feel like the right way to do it.
A separate issue is of course the conflict of interests where the agency receiving revenue for the citations is the same agency operating the cameras. This shifts the motivation away from promoting safety and towards generating revenue. |
 by The Jinxmedic on 9/17/2009 @ 8:51am | Um, when they run the plates on the fake plate overlays- the car's make, model, year, and color information comes up on the registration before it even gets to the address where to mail the citation. Unless the pranksters are using an identical car to yours, chances are pretty good the citation will be thrown out rather quickly in court (except in King county, probably). The down side is you still have to take time off from work to contest the ticket. |
by JesseHillFan on 9/17/2009 @ 9:27am | There is a story right now on Komo about the city of Medina putting up cameras to watch everyone who enters and exits that city.It like Orwell's 1984.
www.komonews.com/news/local/59291652.htm... www.komonews.com/news/59463922.html Could you imagine cameras everywhere.It would transform our country into a totalitarian state where everyone is watched all the time. |
by Joe TS on 10/12/2009 @ 5:07pm | Driving around town I noticed the speed zone camera has been installed at N 26th & Orchard (just West of the intersection). There are cameras for both directions. Not operational yet (waiting for electricity). It's interesting to note that the West bound one is beyond the school zone. |
by Thorax O'Tool on 10/12/2009 @ 7:16pm | Destroy them. |
by KevinFreitas on 10/12/2009 @ 9:37pm | Yeah, so not a fan of speed cameras. That's a pretty good spot for one tho. I normally drive pretty cautiously there anyway considering the school and police sub-station. |
by Thorax O'Tool on 10/12/2009 @ 10:01pm | Destroy them. |
| Post Reply: |