Information from District 1 City Councilmember Lisa Herbold

Last month Publicola reported that as of late October, over half the traffic camera citations for using the Spokane Street (low) Bridge remain unpaid.  89,041 of the 192,432 citations issued during the period restrictions on bridge use were unresolved.

The article quotes Seattle Municipal Court saying that “People with unpaid tickets from 2020-2022 should plan to respond to their tickets by January 30, 2023,” and “People can respond to their tickets by setting up a payment plan, setting up a community service plan if they are low-income, or scheduling a hearing.”

The article further notes “The court also plans to start sending unpaid fines to a collections agency, which tacks on a 15 percent fee on each ticket, as soon as the end of April.”

The 89,041 citations issued during 2021 were 46% of the citywide total camera citations. 41,535 were issued for the low bridge during 2022.

Here’s Seattle Municipal Court’s Traffic Camera Infractions data page. The “Traffic Camera Citations by Location tab includes this data.

Here’s a link to Seattle Municipal Court’s page for paying tickets.

Here is information for low-income persons, and how to apply for payment plans and community service, and other options.

Here is the page for Parking and Traffic Ticket debt reduction hearings for low-income people.

To dispute a ticket, you must request a hearing within 15 days of the date the ticket was issued.