Particle.news
Download on the App Store
4 ARTICLES
·
2h ago

Ford Moves to Ban Municipal Speed Cameras as Local Data Show Big Safety Gains

The premier proposes a provincial fund for traffic calming to replace municipal cameras.

Image
Highway 417 looking east.
Speed-camera signs posted in the Sidney Street Community Safety Zone between College Street and Tracey Street in Belleville to advise people speed cameras are now monitoring local traffic. Cars clocked by the cameras doing more than the 40-km/h speed limit will be photographed and fines issued at a higher cost than normal speeding provisions set by the city. (Derek Baldwin/Postmedia Network)

Overview

  • City of Belleville data show average speeds on Sidney Street dropped from 55 km/h to roughly 39–40 km/h after automated enforcement began.
  • A SickKids-led analysis of 250 Toronto school zones found a 45% decline in speeding and an 88% drop in drivers exceeding limits by more than 20 km/h.
  • Premier Doug Ford has called automated enforcement a cash grab and says he will table legislation to prohibit municipal speed cameras.
  • He is pitching a provincial program to fund speed bumps, roundabouts, raised crosswalks, curb extensions and other physical traffic-calming measures, and has floated repurposing cameras for crime surveillance.
  • Municipal discussions include first-offence warning letters, limiting overnight school-zone enforcement and clearer rollouts, while some cities such as Vaughan have abandoned camera programs after heavy ticketing.