Half of the speed safety cameras Bellevue installed this month have been damaged by vandals, and the Bellevue Police Department says it has increased patrols around the camera sites while it looks for whoever is responsible.
The vandalism comes as the city prepares to switch the cameras from warnings to $124 citations in September and to expand the program this fall onto two of the arterials that carry the most traffic into downtown Bellevue: Bellevue Way Southeast near the South Bellevue Park & Ride, and 116th Avenue Northeast just northeast of the downtown core.
The city put eight cameras in the ground at four locations during the week of Aug. 18. Four of them were hit on the night of Sunday, Aug. 24, police said. All four were coated in gray spray paint, and two had their lenses crushed.
The damaged units sit at two of the four sites: a pair on Forest Drive Southeast between Southeast 54th Place and Coal Creek Parkway, and a pair on 148th Avenue Northeast near Northeast 11th Place. The Forest Drive cameras have since been cleaned, and at least one is back in service. The 148th Avenue cameras took the worst of it and need replacement covers and internal parts before they can operate again.
Bellevue police say they have no suspect description, no leads and no established motive. The department is asking anyone who saw anything at either location Sunday night to come forward, and officers are patrolling the camera locations more frequently in an effort to head off a repeat.
Who Pays for the Repairs
Verra Mobility, the vendor that runs Bellevue’s photo enforcement program, is responsible for repairing and replacing the damaged equipment under its contract with the city. The city has not released a dollar figure for the damage.
Citations Start the Third Week of September
Each new camera location goes through a one-month warning period before real money is at stake. Drivers caught speeding during that window receive a warning notice in the mail instead of a ticket. For the cameras installed in August, citations are expected to begin the third week of September.
Once enforcement starts, a speeding infraction carries a $124 fine. In school zones, the amount doubles to $248. The cameras photograph only the rear of a vehicle and record the date, time and location of the violation. A Bellevue police officer reviews every potential violation before a citation is mailed.
Where the Cameras Are — and Where They’re Going Next
The four August locations are:
- 148th Avenue Northeast, between Northeast 13th and Northeast 10th places
- Northeast Eighth Street, between 167th Avenue Northeast and 168th Place Northeast
- Forest Drive Southeast, between 138th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 60th Street
- Forest Drive Southeast, between Southeast 54th Place and Coal Creek Parkway
Three more locations are scheduled for later this year, adding six more cameras:
- Bellevue Way Southeast, near the South Bellevue Park & Ride
- Coal Creek Parkway Southeast, between Forest Drive and Southeast 60th Street
- 116th Avenue Northeast, between Northeast 21st Street and Aegis Living Bellevue Overlake
The city selected the sites based on crash history, targeting corridors where the most frequent and most severe collisions occur.
What It Means for Downtown Bellevue Drivers
None of the cameras sit inside the downtown core, but two of the three locations going in this fall are on arterials that funnel traffic straight into it.
The Bellevue Way Southeast camera near the South Bellevue Park & Ride will sit on the primary southern approach to downtown, the route drivers use coming from Interstate 90 and Mercer Island, and the same corridor that feeds the park-and-ride’s transit riders and the Bellevue Way approach to Old Bellevue and Bellevue Square. The posted limit at that location is 40 mph.
The 116th Avenue Northeast camera lands just northeast of the downtown core, between Northeast 21st Street and Aegis Living Bellevue Overlake, on the corridor that links downtown to the Bel-Red area, the Spring District and Overlake. That stretch is posted at 30 mph.
Downtown workers, residents and visitors who drive either route will be passing an active speed camera by the end of the year, and each new location carries its own one-month warning period before citations begin. Drivers heading east out of downtown on Northeast Eighth Street will also reach a camera near 167th Avenue Northeast, one of the four already installed.
Background on the Expansion
Bellevue’s speed safety camera program dates to 2009 and operates under the city’s Vision Zero initiative, which sets a goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030. A change to state law expanded where Washington cities may place speed cameras beyond school zones, and the Bellevue City Council took up the question of adding more cameras in August 2025 before the city moved forward with a citywide expansion that October. The expanded program was formally adopted Dec. 9, 2025.
Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to contact the Bellevue Police Department.
