Since Poulsbo implemented a traffic safety camera Oct. 23, 919 speeding tickets have been issued as of Dec. 9, resulting in nearly $40,000 in revenue from the citations, per the Poulsbo Municipal Court.
The camera is located on Viking Avenue between Finn Hill Road and Highway 305. Tickets of $145 are issued when vehicles go 10 or more miles per hour over the speed limit.
Municipal court administrator Amy Knudsen told the City Council at its Dec. 4 meeting that the large volume of citations is overwhelming the court as it only has two clerks.
Mayor Becky Erickson said the city will be looking to hire another clerk soon, adding that the revenue trom citations alone will offset the cost.
“About a third of our day is spent either answering emails, people coming to the counter, payments, so on and so forth,” Knudsen said. “It’s really impacting our work load. Sometimes are phones literally never stop ringing.”
There are two other traffic cameras that have been installed in the city but are not active yet. One is on Noll Road near Poulsbo Elementary, which Knudsen said will become active around the new year. The other is at the Highway 305 intersection at Bond Road, which will enforce vehicles running red lights instead of speed. Knudsen said that camera will become active in the first quarter of 2025.
Those two cameras will launch a 30-day warning period that will aim to educate residents on the program, the dangers of speeding and running red lights, and the consequences of illegal behavior—similar to what occurred before the first camera on Viking Avenue became operational. After the warning period, registered vehicle owners will be issued violations.
The penalty for a red-light infraction also is $145. The school zone speed infraction will be implemented at three levels: vehicles exceeding the speed limit by 6-10 mph is $150; 11-15 mph is $200; and 16 mph and over is $250.
Erickson said it’s all part of the state’s Target Zero initiative to have no highway fatalities. “We’re trying to keep people safe here,” she said.
