4 days ago
‘That's a lot': Vaughan pumps the brakes on photo radar after a deluge of speeding tickets raises hackles
Have Vaughan's new automated speed cameras become a victim of their own success?
The municipality says it will pause issuing fines to speedy drivers after the city's recently launched automated speed enforcement program appears to have exceeded expectations.
Over a period of three weeks, more than 32,000 tickets were issued to drivers who went over the speed limit — in most cases 40 km/h — at 10 locations around the city where the automated speed cameras are located.
'That's a lot,' Mayor Steven Del Duca told city council last week, referring to the number of tickets issued from the end of April to mid-May.
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Del Duca said he asked staff for a report on the speed cameras after his office was inundated with complaints from Vaughan residents, with some raising the issue of 'fairness.'
'I think it's also safe to say, as someone who drives assertively myself, that we do in certain areas of the city, have a bit of an issue with motorists who are using the roads and are driving too fast,' added Del Duca, at the meeting.
But he said he has 'heard very loudly and clearly' from residents about the rollout of the cameras.
He said the issue is not 'about whether people should be driving slower on city roads,' but that a large chunk of the community was still 'caught off guard,' despite months of notices along roadways, public education efforts and large signage.
Del Duca told council that several seniors told him they stopped going to bingo altogether after racking up numerous infractions on the same route — and they only found out they had been nabbed for speeding after several tickets showed up in their mailbox.
There is a question in residents' minds 'around fairness about the initiative,' he said, and whether it's truly keeping roads safe or it's simply a way for the city to generate revenue.
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According to the staff report, the highest number of tickets — nearly 10,000 — were issued along New Westminster Drive, which has a posted speed of 40 km/h. According to the speed cameras, the average speeder on that stretch was clocked doing 56 km/h and the fastest was caught driving about 95 km/h.
However, the data shows that the number of infractions decreased in the same area over time, going from 4,482 in the first week to 1,994 in the third week.
Typically, going 10 km/h over the limit would result in a fine of $68.25, which includes a $50 fine, a $10 victim surcharge fee and $8.25 license plate surcharge fee.
Data from two cameras was deemed incomplete, due to vandalism of the devices — an issue that has plagued speed cameras in Toronto too.
Council's motion will pause fines during the summer, but heavy-footed drivers will still receive warnings if they are caught speeding on city roads. The pause will give the city time to ensure signage and warnings are effectively communicated.
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But Ward 3 Coun. Rosanna DeFrancesca said the punitive nature of the fines is what will make people change their behaviour.
'That's the whole point — if you got tickets, you aren't paying attention,' said DeFrancesca told council. 'It's the summer … we got kids running around … and this is the most dangerous time for our pedestrians.'
In May, Premier Doug Ford also spoke about the public perception that the automated speed cameras were being used to generate income for cash-strapped municipalities. The province introduced measures in the budget that requires cities to be more transparent about signage, and also gives the Ministry of Transportation the ability to intervene on how the cameras are used.
