Anyone who drives through a Lynnwood intersection knows that jittery sense of “uh-oh” when a camera flash fills the rearview mirror.
But on I-405 through Lynnwood?
Mark, of Lynnwood, recently used the carpool lane on I-405 and passed under new equipment the state is erecting for future tolling. “Even though tolling hasn’t been implemented, they appear to be operational,” he said. “As cars go under them, they appear to flash. Are they scanning license plates?”
Yes, they are. But don’t worry, carpool lane users. There’s no bill in the mail.
We recently wrote about the state’s plans to convert the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes on I-405 from Lynnwood to Bellevue. The toll lanes won’t open until fall 2015. But the equipment, including cameras, has gone up in our area — and is now undergoing testing.
“The flash is part of the toll cameras that take photos of the front and back license plates of every vehicle passing under the toll equipment,” said Annie Johnson, a spokesperson with the state Department of Transportation. “This allows us to offer the same toll payment options as the SR 520 bridge. When the express toll lanes open in late 2015, drivers who use the express toll lanes without a Good To Go! account will receive a bill in the mail.”
OK, so it’s just a test — 1, 2, 3…
But wait a minute.
Mark has a good follow-up: “What will they do with the data, other than tolling, and how long will they keep that data?”
Johnson responds: “State law requires that any images or other data captured by the toll system only be used for tolling purposes and we can only take images of the vehicle, not the people inside the vehicle. During system testing, we keep data for a few months before deleting it.”
State crews will wrap up their installation north of Highway 522 this year, then start on the stretch south to NE Sixth Street in Bellevue, with fine-tuning and testing continuing through the summer.
“In the meantime, no tolls will be charged, and the HOV lane will operate the same way it does today,” Johnson said.
Good to know until it’s time for Good To Go.
Speaking of HOT lanes
There will be discussion about setting the tolls for the I-405 HOT lanes project during a two-day meeting of the Washington State Transportation Commission, with meetings scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Oct. 14 and at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 15 at the Transportation Building, 310 Maple Park Ave. SE, on the Capitol Campus in Olympia.
The meeting is open to the public. Most of the tolling talk will be on Oct. 14, but the time for public comment is at 10:15 a.m. Oct. 15.
If you don’t want to drive to Olympia, hang tight. The commission plans to seek public input on the express toll lane rates and policies at meetings in the I-405 corridor late this year. Electronic ways to share your opinion should be available, too. The commission plans to take action on the toll rates and policies in January 2015.
In discussions earlier this year, a minimum of 80 cents to a maximum of $15 were among the numbers discussed for I-405 express lane tolling.
Have a question? Email us at streetsmarts@heraldnet.com. Please include your name and city of residence. Look for updates on our Street Smarts blog.
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