An article from the Washington State Standard (“New Washington law will allow traffic cameras on more city streets and county roads,” The Columbian, March 28) reported that while road deaths have been declining nationally, they continue to go up in Washington. They are also going up in Clark County and in Vancouver.
The Legislature took action, passing a bill to encourage cities to install traffic speed cameras and then enhancing the bill to make it more effective. Gov. Jay Inslee has publicly encouraged cities to install the cameras because they have been proven to reduce road deaths. Sixteen Washington cities have now done so, with Vancouver the one notable standout.
The Vancouver City Council has gone incommunicado on this issue. The city has a website called BeHeard, which says questions regarding issues in the city will be answered within five days. Last December, I posted a question on BeHeard asking simply, “Does the council have a plan to install the cameras” but I received no reply. It took a Columbian reporter’s query to get Ryan Lopossa to admit that the council has no plan.
Residents of Vancouver who are endangered on a daily basis by traffic scofflaws have a right to hear why our council refuses to install the cameras.
