Refund on some Sherwood speeding tickets delayed due to ticket volume

There’s good news, and there’s bad news.

The good news is the city of Sherwood is continuing to refund the costs of tickets associated with motorists fined after being caught on the city’s speed radar at one of the busiest intersections in the city.

The bad news is there’s a backlog, and it will still take some time to process them all.

“The number of citations issued between October 2, 2023, and December 8, 2023, was significantly higher than anticipated,” according to an April 17 statement by City Attorney Ryan Adams . “While our court staff has already issued hundreds of refunds, they are still working diligently to process all refunds. I am grateful for your patience as we work through this process.”

At issue is what the city has said was inadequate warning of a temporary speed limit change as motorists approached the northbound intersection of Highway 99W and Southwest Tualatin-Sherwood Road. That speed change required drivers to slow from the posted speed of 45 mph to 35 mph.

However, the city discovered that a 45 mph speed limit sign had somehow become uncovered within 500 feet of the intersection.

Earlier this year, Sherwood’s municipal court judge dismissed speed radar citations if those motorists who were issued tickets were traveling 56 mph or less and only if they were driving in the northbound lane of Highway 99W.

As of April 25, the city had an estimated 1,225 refunds to process, according to Adams.

Of those refunded tickets, which range from $165 to $330, 575 will not only offer the refund but a separate check to account for online payment processing fees. That second refund will equate to 5.95% of the fine a driver originally paid. The remaining 650 tickets will be paid to motorists at the court counter or via check or money order.

As a result, the earliest those refunds will reach the drivers will be the end of May with the latest being the end of June, Adams said.

While many of those who received tickets were Sherwood residents, the majority had addresses outside the city, he said.

The city first installed photo red light cameras at two of the city’s intersections — Highway 99W at Tualatin-Sherwood Road, and Highway 99W at Sunset Boulevard — in 2010. It added speed enforcement to those cameras in 2018.

All citations are reviewed by a law enforcement officer before they are sent out, and violators have access to an online 12-second video showing the violation.