The region is looking to expand the number of school zones with speed cameras, including Manser Road near Linwood Public School as a potential site.
The automated speed enforcement program has been proven to work, Doug Spooner, the Waterloo Region’s acting transportation commissioner, told Wellesley councillors meeting Tuesday night.
In support of the technology, he cited the case of a driver caught doing more than double the 60 km/h limit near a Woolwich parochial school by a new speed camera. The motorist was filmed doing 121 km/h on Three Bridges Road, near St. Jacobs.
The driver was captured racing by Clearview Mennonite School at 4.44 a.m. on an unspecified date. However, at the time it took place, the camera was not fully active.
But from January, motorists caught speeding with the new technology at that site and 15 other locations in the region will face fines, although not points on their licences, as those can only be given through police stops, said Spooner in this week’s update.
Units installed at Wellesley Public School and St. Clement Catholic School will be activated in January, along with 10 others, including one in Winterbourne.
One at Kressler Road, near South Heidelberg Parochial School, will be fully switched on in the middle of next month.
Wellesley Mayor Joe Nowak, who said he was pleased measures were being taken, noting that he wanted “zero fatalities,” specifically asked about a camera in Linwood.
“I’ve heard complaints about the increased traffic and the amount of speed that happens along that route,” he said.
“There’s a four-way stop there, and when they move through that intersection, they tend to put the pedal to the metal.”
Spooner confirmed that “Linwood is actually on my list” but it will require the area to be first made a community safety zone.
He said the cameras had been proven to work as he outlined findings from the pilot program, including mentioning the Three Bridges Road incident.
“We’re learning from around the world on this as well,” Spooner added.
“Globally, excessive speeding is a factor in one in four fatal collisions, and speed cameras have been shown to reduce collisions by 50 per cent and reduce serious and fatal injuries by 44 per cent.”
Spooner also highlighted how reducing speeds dramatically reduces the risk of pedestrian deaths.
“A car travelling 40 km/h, by the time the driver’s eyes can talk to their brain and their brain can talk to their feet and can apply the brake, takes 45 metres,” he said.
“The next is the rate at which a pedestrian can survive a collision of this type.
“This increases as we slow down. In fact, it goes from 15 per cent at 50 km/h to 70 per cent at 40 km/h.
“Slowing down has the potential to save lives. Science is true, and it’s an awful thing to know.”
The meeting took place 15 days after three people were killed in a horrific crash at the intersection of Hessen Strasse and Greenwood Hill Road, near Crosshill.
Neighbours said they had already raised concerns about the danger of speeding drivers on the roadway and had feared a collision like this would happen.
