cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/35871824
Mayor Patrick Brown said he’s talked with the premier. Brampton has 185 photo radar cameras deployed.
The City of Brampton has spent millions of dollars going all-in on automated speed enforcement (ASE) technology and now Premier Doug Ford says his government might ban it.
On Tuesday (Sep. 9), Ford told reporters that he wants municipalities to voluntarily remove their ASE cameras — otherwise known as photo radar — or the province might ban them.
“It’s just a tax grab. They should take out those cameras — all of them,” Ford said. “Hopefully, the cities will get rid of them … or I’m going to help them get rid of them very shortly.”
Kralt told council that the cameras had reduced average driving speeds in six study areas by between 13 and 26 km/h, while increasing speed limit compliance by up to 85 per cent.
There are two petitions currently active for and against.
Link to petition posted on change.org, urging the city to keep the cameras. https://www.change.org/p/keep-the-speed-cameras-in-brampton
Link to petition posted on change.org, urging the city to remove the cameras. https://www.change.org/p/ditch-the-speed-cameras-petition-for-immediate-removal-in-brampton-ontario
These photo radars are being administrated by a third-party private business, whose taking home the lion’s share of the fine profits. “At no extra cost to the municipality”
Doug is a fucking idiot, that much is clear to anyone who isn’t a fucking idiot.
My city has been aggressively installing these cameras too, and while I don’t love that the money is mostly going to private companies I think they have an impact on slowing people down. Here’s an easy way to avoid being ticketed - when you enter an area that’s got these cameras, set your cruise control to the speed limit.
I know that road design is the best way to calm traffic but I have very little optimism that we’ll see that anytime soon.
I was going down Huntclub in Ottawa at 4:30am to get my friend to the airport for a 6am flight. For a visual, it was down just west of Conroy. The road switches to a 60 zone from an 80kph one but nothing changes, not a damn thing, and I even thought “hey, I really don’t want a problem right now so I’m gunna do 79kph in this 80kph zone. Oh hey a speed camera, I wonder if people have been doing 100+kph down he-“ and then a flash. They want a $120 for that so I requested a trial.
The other one was in the Glebe. This road that is 5 cars wide without any paint is a 30kph zone, now, and so I’m going 45 in what I thought was a 40 zone and that we’re all good and boom, away we go with another one. The photo is comical because my little car is just a sea of asphalt and not exactly in a tight place. I paid that one anyway.
Ph, and the time I was doing 114kph in the leftmost lane on the highway coming back from the Brossard Ikea and got nailed there, too!
The speed cameras don’t actually do anything or keep anyone safe since the drivers are already exceeding the limit and the fines don’t in the mail come for two weeks. We need to stop pretending as if 60kph zones on roads built like 400 series highways are worth a damn and actually start building better.
wait so it works… people reduced speeds considerably, and compliance to the speed limit nearly doubled… why is he against it?
Because it aligns with his suburban voter base, and the city mayor in Brampton is his opposition I believe?
Because a private company takes the profits, not the people.
sounds like a good justification to nationalize, not remove.
Doesn’t follow. Doug Ford LOVES when private companies get public resources. That’s his whole model, but genuinely. If he’s against cameras, it’s because this specific company didn’t take the shady deal he offered them, or they didn’t make him a shady enough offer.
I can’t help but think those millions could have been more effectively spent on chicanes or other traffic calming measures.
In my area they use the revenue from the cameras to fund those kinds of improvements.
That’s the ideal resolution, assuming they get removed or relocated once the infrastructure has been updated.
Unfortunately many municipalities will grow comfortable with the money brought in by these cameras and decide not to make improvements that would eliminate the revenue stream.
Vibe governance.
