REGINA – Tougher traffic laws in Saskatchewan will kick in June 27 and one of the more controversial components is the expansion of photo radar.
As it stands, the technology is only used in some highway construction zones in the province but a two-year provincial pilot project is being set up by SGI to test whether it will help slow drivers down.
“People keep using the term ‘cash cow’ and that’s not what this is,” said Shannon Ell, Manager of Traffic Safety at SGI. “This is a traffic safety initiative to try and slow people down.”
Photo radar is going to be set up along Regina’s Ring Road, Saskatoon’s Circle Drive, and the intersection of Highway 1 and 9th Avenue in Moose Jaw by early this summer.
“All three are problematic, collision, high speeds, high-traffic volume areas,” said Ell.
According to SGI, the average speed along the Moose Jaw Highway Corridor is 90.9 km/hr (speed limit is 80 km/h), and on Circle Drive it’s 97.7 km/hr (speed limit is 90 km/h). The average speed on the Ring Road is yet to be measured.
SGI is in the process of hiring a company to run the automatic speed enforcement system but local police will oversee the program.
“It’s hard to do traditional enforcement because it’s a risk to the officers that are out there trying to stop these guys that are going very fast,” said Ell.
- Trudeau says ‘good luck’ to Saskatchewan premier in carbon price spat
- Canadians more likely to eat food past best-before date. What are the risks?
- Hundreds mourn 16-year-old Halifax homicide victim: ‘The youth are feeling it’
- On the ‘frontline’: Toronto-area residents hiring security firms to fight auto theft
The details are still being worked out, but SGI expects the cameras to be mounted along the roads with the ability to be moved to different spots.
Cameras will also be set up in some school zones with those locations still being determined.
“We know it’s a little bit controversial for some people,” said Regina mayor Michael Fougere. “If you don’t break the law you have nothing to worry about. If you’re breaking the law then there will be consequences.”
For the first six months, speeders will receive a warning in the mail but following that time drivers caught going any speed above the limit could face a fine.
Some jurisdictions in Canada have scrapped photo radar following accusations of it being only a revenue generator but SGI hopes Saskatchewan drivers give the technology a chance.
“There’s evidence that it works,” said Ell. “The problem is that people are not accepting of it.”
Money generated from photo radar tickets will go to the province and municipalities.
Comments