(Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Photo Radar

There will be no new photo radar in Alberta

Nov 26, 2019 | 1:56 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Existing photo radar devices will continue to operate, but drivers can rest assured that there will not be more.

The Government of Alberta has announced that, effective December 1st, 2019, municipalities and police agencies will not be able to install new or upgraded photo radar or deploy existing photo radar to new locations.

The province is working on changing the rules for photo radar site selection, operational restrictions, and data collection.

“Our goal is to ensure photo radar is used for safety, not to generate backdoor tax revenue. Albertans are skeptical about the impact photo radar has on safety and we do not have useful data to analyze so we can make a decision,” says Transportation Minister Ric McIver.

“Alberta has three times as many photo radar units per capita as British Columbia but our roads are not meaningfully safer. A temporary freeze means municipalities and police cannot purchase or install new and costly equipment while we work with them to build better oversight and reporting on the effectiveness of photo radar.”

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McIver called photo radar a “cash cow” for local governments and police agencies, believing that traffic tickets should only aim to help increase public safety.

The review found that photo radar operations in Alberta only resulted in a marginal contribution to traffic safety.

Currently, 27 Albertan municipalities utilize photo radar, which have collectively generated $220-million in 2016-17 in revenue.