The region is planning a massive expansion of its speed camera program, along with doubling the fines, over the next four years.
From just four cameras operational today, there will be 160 across the region by 2028 under the planned rollout schedule discussed at Woolwich council Tuesday night.
Following the first camera was installed under the automated speed enforcement program in 2021, the region has set up camera housings in 16 school zones across the area, including two in Woolwich: on Katherine Street in front of Foundation Christian School in Winterbourne and Clearview Mennonite School on Three Bridges Road.
Four cameras are rotated across the 16 locations on regular basis. By next spring, all 16 locations should have permanent cameras installed, said Darryl Spencer, the region’s manager of transportation and engineering.
After that, the plan is to have 36 cameras installed each year from 2025 to 2028 in school and community zones across the region.
Thus far, the program has been successful, with safety concerns making the expansion warranted, said Spencer.
“It’s working. The cameras have the ability to control speed.”
Speed matters when it comes to protecting pedestrians, he stressed. A pedestrian has a 90 per cent chance of survival if struck by a vehicle travelling at 30 km/h, and that survival rate falls to 15 per cent at 50 km/h and five per cent at 60 km/h.
Since 2021, the cameras have seen speed compliance at the 16 locations increase by 63 per cent, he noted.
The region says speeding is a contributing factor in 25 per cent of fatal collisions, noting speed cameras reduce collisions in the area by 50 per cent and fatal injuries by 44 per cent.
In conjunction with the new cameras, the region is also looking to change that way tickets are issued and fines collected. The goal is for the region to process the tickets under what it calls an administrative penalty (AP) program rather the current system under the Provincial Offences Act.
Theresa Mendler, manager of the processing centre for automated enforcement, said the changes would see speeding offences handled like parking tickets, making the issuance of tickets and collection of fines faster than is currently the case.
She noted the existing court-based system could see cases drag on for eight to 14 months, while the AP system would require just a week or two for a review to be completed.
Fines would essentially double under the new system proposed to begin next month. A $52.50 ticket for travelling 15 km/h over the posted speed limit would rise to $98.25, increasing on a sliding scale to $453.25 at 30 km/h over, up from $220 today.
Any revenues beyond the program costs would go into a road safety reserve fund, said Mendler. The money would be used for the likes of traffic-calming projects, roundabout programs and road redesigns.
Coun. Nathan Cadeau suggested revenues should be shared with the municipalities where the cameras are installed.
“How can we ensure that funds extracted in Woolwich come back to Woolwich?” he asked.
Mendler said the region is currently looking at that process.
