Edmonds, Washington wants to point speed cameras at school zones around the clock — not just when kids are actually there — and fine you up to $290 for the privilege of driving past an empty building at the wrong speed. The stakes aren't limited to one suburb: if Edmonds normalizes 24-hour school zone surveillance, your town is next.
Right now, Edmonds runs five Verra Mobility cameras at four schools for 90 minutes a day — 45 at drop-off, 45 at pickup. The proposed ordinance would keep those cameras rolling every hour of every day, slapping drivers with a $144 fine for going 7 mph over the limit at 2 a.m. on a Saturday, when the nearest child is asleep two blocks away. During actual school hours, fines climb as high as $290.
City staff pitched the expansion at a July budget meeting and projected it would generate roughly $1 million in revenue by 2027, according to the Everett Herald. But when the council took up the issue publicly, Mayor Mike Rosen insisted the conversation had nothing to do with money. "You aren't going to hear the word 'dollars,'" Rosen said. "This is about data and speed and safety and children and families and pedestrians."
Except the dollars are right there in the council's own agenda memo. Follow the money: after covering administrative costs, the extra revenue must go toward traffic safety purposes, City Attorney Jeff Taraday said. After four years, the state takes a 25% cut. This is a revenue machine dressed up in a reflective vest.
Contrast this with Arlington County, Virginia, which has also expanded its speed camera program to 28 devices. But Arlington's cameras only operate when school-zone beacons are flashing during arrival and dismissal — the times children are actually present. Arlington recorded nearly 48,000 violations and collected over $3.6 million in civil penalties, WJLA reported. County officials claim a 40% reduction in crashes and a 16% reduction in speed. The fine is a flat $100 — no escalating tiers, no 24-hour dragnet.
At least two other Washington cities — Kenmore and Lake Forest Park — already run 24-hour school zone cameras. Edmonds isn't the pioneer; it's the next domino.
Most council members lined up behind the expansion. Council member Erika Barnett argued that schools have uses "beyond those bell times," so enforcing the speed limit "all the time" is important. One council member pushed back. Council President Pro Tem Jenna Nand said she opposes "any revenue generation" through "regressive taxes, fines or fees" during a cost-of-living crisis when people are living paycheck to paycheck. She's right. A $290 fine for speeding past an empty school at night doesn't protect children — it punishes working-class drivers who can least afford it.
City officials assured the council that the municipal court has a financial declaration process for hardship cases, and that police and court staff could absorb the extra workload without new hires. In other words: we'll squeeze the revenue, and if you can't pay, there's a form for that.
The founders didn't risk their lives so government could mount cameras outside schools to watch citizens 24 hours a day. If the goal is safety during school hours, keep the cameras on during school hours. The minute the beacons stop flashing, the cameras should stop rolling. Anything else isn't protection — it's conditioning.
