LFP traffic cameras fill $660,000 Ballinger roundabout gap
Lake Forest Park will use new traffic safety camera revenue to fill a $660,000 gap in the Ballinger roundabout project.
At the Thursday, January 23, meeting the Lake Forest Park city council voted to use funds from the city’s new traffic safety enforcement cameras to fill a funding gap of $660,000 for the roundabout on Ballinger at 40th Place NE.
Ballinger Way (also know as SR104) is a state highway and one of the busiest and most dangerous roads in LFP - dividing the city and creating a hazardous barrier for pedestrians. Councilmember Semra Riddle highlighted the need for a safe pedestrian crossing on Ballinger. “It's such a challenge to get across that Ballinger line for our community… It's near impossible when you're walking,” she said. And emphasizing the importance of completing the project despite setbacks she said, “something like this increases that pedestrian safety and allows at least one place for us to be able to cross safely.”
The Washington Traffic Safety Commission said more pedestrians were killed in Washington State in 2023 than in any other year on record. Studies have shown roundabouts improve safety for pedestrians and are becoming a common safety feature on roadways.
Lake Forest Park plans to spend $7 million from its $7.5 million transportation fund to build the roundabout at Ballinger Way and 40th Place NE. Construction of the roundabout project is expected to commence this summer with planned completion in 2027. Because of rising costs and overruns, the city now anticipates a $660,000 shortfall and will use automated traffic safety camera revenue to cover the gap.
The city expects to collect $12 million in traffic safety camera fines over the next biennium thanks to a new state law that allowed the city to increase fines and leave the cameras on all-day throughout the year after designating 178th near Brookside elementary a “school walk zone.” The old red-light cameras along Bothell Way and the speed cameras near Lake Forest Park elementary will bring $4,381,800 and the city expects to earn $8,040,000 from the cameras on 178th near Brookside elementary. City staff told the council there was $417,000 from the new traffic safety cameras as of end of year.
After turning on the cameras in June, average speeds dropped from over 30 mph to less than 25 mph. Mayor Tom French gave an update on the new traffic cameras. “We're consistently seeing I think now our running average is about 122 citations… a day... Which is unfortunate. We were hoping those numbers would drop dramatically,” he said. “The good news is the speed has dropped, continues to drop. The latest number I had was 23.2 miles an hour in that zone which is a very positive step.”
Under the new traffic safety camera law, revenue from automated traffic safety cameras must be spent on “direct and meaningful” traffic safety benefits in census tracts with the lowest household incomes and areas with high rates of injury crashes. According to a map from the recently adopted LFP comprehensive plan, Lake Forest Park has four census tracts and the roundabout will be located between the two wealthiest tracts in the city. According to the 2025-2026 biennium budget, the city plans to use funds from the new traffic cameras to cover the salaries of two additional court clerks, three more police officers, and most of the salary for a public works employee.
