‘Is it about safety or money?’: Ursula questions Edmonds’ motive behind 24/7 school speed cameras

The Edmonds City Council voted 5-2 to keep school zone speed cameras running 24 hours a day, seven days a week — a move the city says is about safety, but one that is also expected to generate roughly $1 million in additional revenue, according to The Everett Herald.

That revenue figure caught the attention of Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin, co-hosts of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

“Is it about the safety, or is it about how much money we can get when this change goes into effect?” Ursula said.

The cameras, located near Scriber Lake High School, Westgate Elementary, Chase Lake Elementary, and Edmonds-Woodway High School, currently operate for just 90 minutes a day, split between drop-off and pick-up times, according to The Everett Herald. Under the new ordinance, drivers traveling 7 mph or more over the speed limit will face a $144 fine at any hour. Those going 11 mph or more over will receive a $290 ticket.

“I think that might be excessive,” Ursula said. “All day, every day, cracking down as if it’s a school zone?”

Gee backs 24/7 school speed cameras

Gee disagreed, arguing that kids don’t stop using school grounds just because the bell rings.

“It’s absolutely yes, 24/7,” Gee said. “When school’s out, does that mean the school grounds are closed to kids? How many of you all have gone to ride your bikes at the school? How many of you guys have gone up? Maybe your school has a basketball court, and you meet your friends up at the school. If the answer is yes, then turn the cameras on.”

KIRO producer Andrew Lanier pushed back, arguing the revenue motive was hard to ignore.

“In the city’s presentation, it was directly pitched to them,” Lanier said. “Edmonds is strapped for money. They said, ‘Hey, this is going to generate a million in revenue if we do it.'”

One-third of drivers think nobody follows the speed limit

The Edmonds debate came amid a broader conversation about how normalized speeding has become. A new AAA study found that one-third of drivers believe nobody actually drives the speed limit, and many consider going 10 mph over completely acceptable.

A two-week sample found that more than 5,300 drivers near Edmonds-Woodway would have been ticketed if the cameras had been running all day, The Everett Herald reported.

Gee argued that all speed limits across the country should drop by 5 mph, pointing to the rise of e-bikes, e-scooters, and delivery drivers sharing roads that weren’t designed with them in mind.

“When the speed limit was made, and these roads were made, the e-bikes and e-scooters were not on the roads,” Gee said. “We’re in a different time right now.”

Ursula said even driving at 65 mph, she felt like the slowest car on the road.

“Yesterday, I noticed that I, at times, was just at 65, and I was so much slower than everybody else,” she said, adding that Washington State Patrol has been far more visible this summer.

An officer texts in

A law enforcement officer texted the show to confirm what many drivers suspect about the threshold for getting pulled over.

“I usually won’t stop someone unless they’re going 12 mph over,” Ursula read from the message. “The lower the limit, the lower my minimum is. School zones, which are 20, and Golden Gardens is 15, so I won’t stop for under 7 mph over those limits.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.