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New photo radar guidelines released by province

Feb 21, 2019 | 2:50 PM

 

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The province is making changes to how municipalities can use and operate photo radar, aiming to end the perception that it’s a cash-cow for municipalities.

Transportation Minister Brian Mason released a long-awaited report into how photo radar is being used in the province Thursday morning. The review had been underway since 2017.

“I think photo radar is being used to generate revenue for municipalities and the provincial government to a greater degree than it should be, and it is not being optimized to improve safety outcomes on our highways and our roads,” Mason said during a news conference in Edmonton.

Among the new regulations, photo radar is now prohibited from being used in speed transition zones, where speed limits immediately change on highways. Conventional enforcement, such as patrols and radar guns, will still be allowed.

Also, starting in June, the province will be closing a loophole allowing photo radar to be used on high-speed multi-lane roadways in the province.

“You could drive a Mack truck through this loophole,” Mason said, noting photo radar will only be allowed to be used on these roads if there is a documented traffic safety issue.

Municipalities will have one year to prove their photo radar program is being used to reduce traffic collisions, and risk losing the program if it’s not being used to reduce collisions or make the roads safer.

Inspector Joe West with the Medicine Hat Police Service says this is something police already does.

“We are actually audited by the province to make sure we’re staying in the guidelines, and of course, we make sure to report the photo radar numbers, average speeds, the number of sites we monitor, on a monthly basis to Police Commission,” he said.

West notes the city currently has 162 locations approved for photo radar, and they need to go to the province for approval to add a new site.

In 2018, police monitored 956,725 vehicles and issued 21,166 tickets, according to the January 2019 Police Commission meeting. Violators were going an average of 14 kilometres/hour over the speed limit.

In 2017, 1,026,030 vehicles were monitored, with 24,967 tickets issued.

Medicine Hat is among 28 municipalities in Alberta which uses photo radar. According to the province’s report, Medicine Hat generated $2,367,039.39 in revenue from photo radar in 162 locations in 2016. In comparison to similar-sized cities, Lethbridge generated $3,971,403.53 in revenuefrom 58 locations, including photo radar and red light cameras, while Red Deer, which has 333 locations, generated $1,582,725.38 in revenue.

West says police believe photo radar is a tool to improve safety in the community.

“It has, I think, impacted driving habits,” he said. “We have seen, although our number of monitored vehicles has stayed consistent over the past years, we are seeing a decline in the number of violations. So, I certainly think it’s slowing people down and making the roads safer.”