Mayor Jim Watson and transportation committee chair Keith Egli unveiled Tuesday the latest addition to the city’s inventory of red light cameras, located at the intersection of Lyon and Slater streets.
According to the city, this camera is the final one that city council committed to installing during the 2014-2018 term. It brings the total number of red light cameras in the city to 54.
According to the city, intersections are chosen for red light cameras based on collision patterns. The cameras reportedly improve intersection safety by decreasing the running of red lights. The city has an interactive traffic map that lists all intersections in the city that are equipped with red light cameras.
The city also says that all intersections with red light cameras are equipped with signs to increase drivers’ awareness of their installation. The red light camera takes two photographs: one when a vehicle is about to enter an intersection where the light is red, and one showing the vehicle in the intersection. Both photos only capture a vehicle’s rear license plates — not its driver or occupants. The city previously consulted the province’s information and privacy commissioner to ensure the cameras do not violate driver or occupant privacy.
According to a memo to council from the John Manconi released by the city Tuesday, the city has signed an interprovincial record exchange agreement with the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators. That means is the city will now have access to vehicle licensing data from those provinces and territorial ministries of transportation which have agreed to share their data with the CCMTA. As of April 25, that includes Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon.
This means that the city will now have access to licence records of drivers from those respective provinces or territories and will be able to issue tickets to drivers who are caught running red lights.
“It is expected, barring any unanticipated complications in the software update, that the issuance of red-light camera violations to out-of-province offenders from Quebec, will begin by the end of June,” said Manconi in the memo.
“Transportation Services will provide a final update to Council once all processes are in place and tickets are being issued to out of province red-light offenders”
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