Doug Ford’s plan to ban speed enforcement cameras in Ontario municipalities has not gone down well with many Ottawa parents and others who worry about fast drivers around school zones.
Despite many organizations, including the Ontario Associations of Chiefs of Police, claiming the cameras are effective at slowing drivers down, Ford says people are “fed up” with them and “enough is enough.” He has mused about using them to catch car thieves instead.
Ford called the cameras a “tax grab” and has endorsed a decision by onetime Liberal rival and now Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca to eliminate them in his city. The announcement of legislation came as the City of Ottawa was planning to spend $1.73 million for more speed cameras.
The provincial ban “is a horrible idea,” said Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine. “This will lead to increased speeding.”
Ottawa has 60 speed cameras in community safety zones, which are close to schools and parks. The city designates locations based on data covering pedestrian traffic, roadway classification and speeding concerns.
“He’s putting young kids at risk,” Devine said. “[School zones] are where you have some of our most vulnerable road users. … They rely on enforcement measures as a means of increasing their safety.”
Emily Rack is a mother of students at Hopewell Avenue Public School. She walks a group of children home after school each day.
“Why would anyone make the foolish decision to remove speed cameras in the areas where we need them most?” she said. “The safer school zones, the better.”
Tisha Parker walks her grandson to and from Hopewell.
“I don’t agree with [Ford] at all. … When he said that I thought, are you kidding,” Parker said.
“I think schools should be protected. If it’s been put in place, it’s been put in place for a reason,” she said.
Several associations support of automated speed enforcement cameras, challenging the premier, including the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.
“The OACP has clearly indicated that Ontario’s police leaders view [Automated Speed Enforcement Cameras] not as a revenue tool, but as a traffic safety tool,” OACP said in a press release.
“[Automated speed enforcement cameras] are proven to reduce speeding, change driver behaviour, and make our roads safer for everyone — drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and especially children and other vulnerable road users,” said OACP.
In a statement, Canadian charity Parachute cited research from Toronto Metropolitan University and The Hospital for Sick Children, which found automated speed enforcement cameras reduced speeding in school zones by 45 per cent.
The City of Ottawa says that speed limit compliance, on average, increased from 16 per cent to 81 per cent three years after implementation of speed cameras.
Speech cameras “are not there for nothing … And I know that there are certain streets where people like to rush and run stop lights,” said Parker.
Parker said she hoped Ford wouldn’t go through with his plan.
