Deanne Pittman, Centretown News
Photo radar detectors are one option to deter motorists from speeding through red lights.The City of Ottawa will be asking for the public’s input on whether the city should install photo radar technology to crack down on speeding drivers at the next transportation meeting on May 4.
This decision comes after council voted 20 – 1 Wednesday March 23 to refer a motion introduced by River Ward Coun. Riley Brockington.
The motion, if passed, would ask the mayor to formally seek permission from the province to install photo radar technology on local streets. The idea has received mixed reactions from the public as well as city officials.
“This motion leap frogged committee and went straight to council,” says Coun. Keith Egli, who presented the motion to refer Brockington’s request. “It allowed no opportunity for (public) discussion to take place or delegations to come forward.”
The photo radar system works much like the red-light cameras. It snaps a photo of a speeding car’s license plate and later mails a ticket to the owner of the car.
This poses as an issue for some, as they argue the driver is not necessarily the owner and as a result might not get penalized.
Egli says there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about how and when photo radar should be used.
He says referring the motion to the transportation committee allows officials to draft a report highlighting the pros and cons of the photo radar system.
Robust public consultation is an important step in understanding the views and perspectives of the community, explains Yasir Naqvi, the provincial minister of community safety and correctional services.
He says if Ottawa decides to approach the provincial government, he expects the city to engage in such deliberations.
Mayor Jim Watson agrees that public consultation is important.
“My preference all along, if we were going to even contemplate asking the province for that power, is that we at least have the public be in on the issue because it is a very divisive issue,” Watson said at the March 23 meeting.
Critics of photo radar technology say the system is simply a cash grab, whereas its supporters argue it is an effective tool to crackdown on speeders.
“The point around the intention of such tools is very important,” says Naqvi.
“The intention should always be to ensure that our roads are safe for everyone to use and (that it will) work well with all other tools that are available to us.”
In his address to council members on March 23, Brockington said photo radar technology is not his first choice to enforce speed limits in Ottawa.
But he sees no other choice as other measures, such as the solar powered speed monitors, have proven to be ineffective in some areas.
Brockington voted in favour of referring his motion to the transportation committee.
He did not respond to Centretown News’ repeated requests for an interview.
Beighbouring municipalities such as Gatineau have already adopted the use of photo radars across the city – and boast its success at reducing speeding violations.
But Watson says he is not convinced there is enough public demand for the use of photo radar.
Since Brockington initially introduced this motion at February’s city council meeting, Michael Powell, the Dalhousie Community Association president, kick started a petition in favour of installing the photo radar system around the city.
In a tweet, Powell says the petition has more than 550 signatures.
While the majority of the councilors agreed that speeding is an issue across Ottawa, Egli wants to ensure a transparent process where all stakeholders involved are included, before making a “fundamental change to enforcement laws.”
“(We need) to make a reasonable, informed and collaborative decision,” he says.