Bellingham : 66% REJECT out of state, profit driven privatized ticketing cameras.

TWO THIRDS REJECT TICKETING CAMERAS Bellingham City Council president hears 66% rejection of ticketing cameras, and says "I think that was a mistake that we bought into that. We should have held a hearing. I think council learned a lesson" ENGINEERING REPORT says "...red-light camera will not reduce collision/injury potential but may increase it." Public Information Request of emails between City of Bellingham and ATS Corp

RESIDENTS SEEK INQUIRY Too many questions unanswered. BELLINGHAM - Saturday will mark the one-year anniversary of the Bellingham City Council refusing to hold a public hearing into the red-light camera program. During that year, the Transportation Safety Coalition has not only been campaigning to prevent installation of the cameras, they’ve been compiling records, requesting documents from the city, and discovering too many flaws to be ignored concerning the safety and policy of the program. They believe that a higher authority should look into their concerns, questions and compiled documents. The project to install four red-light and two speed cameras in Bellingham is on hold through mutual agreement between the city and American Traffic Solutions. Now that Initiative results are in, and the community appears to have overwhelmingly rejected the cameras, the local citizen’s group contends the project should be shelved, until questions are answered, and a public hearing is held. The group’s concerns include (but are not limited to): The city refused to reschedule a public hearing on the matter as promised, Irrefutable evidence brings into question the legitimacy of all six camera locations. Independent research of one intersection proves that no red-light running collision history exists, and that installation of a camera on SR 539 at Telegraph Road (which already has a high rate of rear-end collisions), will likely increase collisions, The city appears to have put the Bellingham Police Department in charge of the program rather than licensed city traffic engineers, and did not follow recommended guidelines (such as FHWA recommendations) for research or installation of cameras, The city has provided no scientific baseline for the proposed one-year pilot program, The BPD took guidance on safety analysis and public outreach from camera company American Traffic Solutions, rather than internal city departments, The removal of public documents from the city website (mysteriously occurring after attention was brought to them) which appears intentionally done to hide content. The mayor's recorded explanation of this incident seems implausible, Questionable correspondence between ATS and city. The mayor has admitted that Bill Kroske, the ATS project manager who shepherded the ticketing program through the city’s approval process, was “fired from ATS for unethical behavior”. Yet he fails to acknowledge similar improprieties evidenced in 115 pages of correspondence between Kroske and city personnel over a two year period which was uncovered through the public disclosure process, No apparent bidding process for camera contract, Documents requested from the city through the Public Records Request Act appear to be missing or deleted. “We believe we have documentation that raises too many questions about how this played out behind the citizens’ backs for the last three years,” said Randy Elmore, Bellingham resident and Transportation Safety Coalition spokesperson. “We also want to know who initiated the contract with ATS, and who was ultimately in charge of the project at a management level above the Bellingham Police Department.” The group of concerned activists also suggests citizens in all other cities, thoroughly review public records and traffic safety studies, to see if improper activities occurred in their jurisdictions. “Though ATS sued the citizens of Bellingham to suppress voter turnout and reduce the relevance of the initiative, the people have sent a message loud and clear that they do not want ticketing cameras installed in the city,” said Elmore.

This was the BALLOT STATEMENT Thanks to 7000 Bellingham citizens who supported this initiative which simply requires the government to ask voters permission before corporations install profit-driven surveillance cameras. Voting "yes" gives the voters the right to decide - voting "no" means you trust the corporations. INITIATIVE #2011-01 GIVES CITIZENS THE CHANCE TO DECIDE After voters OK our initiative, local traffic engineers can then lead the discussion on implementing more effective (albeit less profitable) strategies such as education and awareness measures, intersection design changes, flashing warning lights, solar-powered speed indicator signs, etc. Those approaches are much more in line with the way we do things in Bellingham. Public hearings were denied and the contract was quietly signed, violating due process. Bellingham’s small town feel is ours to cherish. Slapping up red light and speed ticketing cameras, inviting corporations to treat citizens like ATM machines takes that away – it hurts our community. Automatic ticketing cameras would export $342,000 (minimum) annually away from the Bellingham economy, sending it to a Goldman Sachs-backed corporation in Arizona. Our city admits that research shows the red-light cameras increase collisions by 14%, while not substantially reducing fatalities. Let the people decide. Vote YES on #2011-01

Bellingham : 66% REJECT out of state, profit driven privatized ticketing cameras.

Transportation Safety Coalition are a diverse range of local citizens, including Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who want our streets safe and for traffic laws to be enforced by our local police, not a malicious private company from out of state.

Contact by email : info@bhamcamscam.com

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