The city of Bainbridge Island has begun a pilot test program with a third-party contractor, Jenoptik, to install cameras to identify lane cutting at the BI ferry terminal.

The program, which began May 14, will run for approximately 60 days to allow the city to determine how many violations occur and how much time is required to review the instances, city communication coordinator Shannon Hays said.

The cameras are able to; read licence plates, provide time stamps, collect GPS coordinates and direction of travel, per city documents. The new cameras are located at two locations along Highway 305; one at the entrance to the ferry terminal and one the north end of Winslow Way and Hwy 305.

During the program, no violations will be formally issued to residents and the city does not intend to hire new staff to review the footage; instead, BI police will review the footage, Hays said. Regarding privacy concerns, Hays said state law limits images to vehicles only when an infraction occurs. The city will also retain ownership of the data collected.

The pilot test program doesn’t require the city to move forward with a future contract outside of the pilot program.

“Ferry line cutting is a common complaint. The state resources available to address this issue have been limited with focus on other terminals such as the Kingston terminal,” Hays said.“Using photo-enforcement technology would potentially facilitate enforcement through a more efficient use of our limited resources.”