The Manitoba government says it is going to review photo radar — a traffic enforcement tool that critics have said is more about money than road safety.
Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler says the review will look at where and how photo radar is used and whether it is meeting its aim of improving safety.
“This review will assess how photo enforcement is used, where it is used and whether or not it is improving road safety,” said Schuler in a release.
“As the current legislation has been in place for 17 years, it is time for us to evaluate the system to see if it’s working and where we can make improvements.”
Photo radar has been used in many areas of Winnipeg since 2003.
There are fixed cameras at many red-light intersections and mobile cameras frequently set up in school and construction zones.
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Opponents such as the group WiseUp Winnipeg say the technology has not improved safety, but has served as a money stream for governments.
WiseUp Winnipeg founder, Todd Dube, told 680 CJOB the group plans to take part in the review.
“It’s a little overdue, but it’s welcome news,” he said about the government’s review Wednesday.
“The review … seeks the fundamental answers to (whether) this program has met its fundamental mandate of reducing collisions and injuries — well they’re looking for it 17 years after the fact — they could have looked for it after year one, and two, and three.”
Schuler says the four-month review will look at all traffic enforcement strategies in the province’s road safety plan, but will focus on photo radar.
“One of the plan’s key principles recognizes that speed is a fundamental factor in the severity of a crash,” said Schuler.
“Photo enforcement is intended to reduce speed violations, and therefore a review of it within the context of all speed-related enforcement programming is timely to ensure that it continues to support this goal.”
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