The City of Toronto has revealed its first automated speed enforcement (ASE) sign on Monday morning.
According to the city’s website, ASE “is an automated system that uses a camera and a speed measurement device to detect and capture images of vehicles travelling in excess of the posted speed limit.”
Mayor John Tory, along with councillors Stephen Holyday and James Pasternak, unveiled one of 50 ASE signs located on Renforth Drive between Tabard Gate and Lafferty Street on Monday morning.
The new ASE systems will be installed in community safety zones, near school zones, and to ensure an even distribution there will be two systems per ward across the city.
“These systems are mobile, and it is anticipated they will rotate every three to six months within the ward,” the city’s website read. “This provides an opportunity to address a greater number of areas with safety concerns and provide a wider-ranging deterrent effect.”
Tory said when a test camera was installed on Renforth Drive, the majority of drivers were speeding.
“And one person, believe it or not, was recorded electronically going 202 km in a 40 km/h posted zone.”
“We have a real problem on our hands with people going too fast in many places across the city and people are being killed, and people are being seriously injured and families are traumatized,” Tory added.
The city says the images will be reviewed by provincial offence officers, and then tickets will be issued to the owner of the vehicle, regardless of who was driving.
If convicted, the only penalty is a fine, no demerit points will be issued, and the registered owners driving record will not be impacted, the city says.
“The province is requiring municipalities to establish a 90-day warning period in advance of all new ASE system deployments. ‘Coming soon’ advisory signs will be posted at the new deployment site,” the city’s website reads.
Tory said the city cannot issue any tickets until 90 days from today which is sometime in March. However, Tory said warnings will likely be issued starting in January.
The city said it is not publicly disclosing how much over the speed limit drivers have to be driving in order to get a speeding ticket through one of the municipal speed cameras.
The mayor also said some of the ground-mounted speed radar boxes have started being installed across the city, including one Global News found in Toronto’s east end on Chatham Avenue.
“We’re just in the process of installing signs and cameras because there’s no restriction on when we can install the camera. In fact, we can install it today, we can start to use it today, to issue the warnings but it’s only the 90-day period that has to run before we can give a ticket,” Tory said.
“The cameras will go in as soon as possible, accompanying the signs. The cameras as soon as they are activated and working well will be able to issue warning letters.”
A full list of the 50 locations within the city’s 25 wards can be found here.
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