Mayor Olivia Chow is asking for changes to Toronto’s speed cameras as a part of a last-minute effort to get Premier Doug Ford to reconsider scrapping them altogether.
In a news release Thursday morning, Chow’s office said she would introduce several recommendations to “strengthen” automated speed enforcement at Friday’s infrastructure and environment committee — including a suggestion city staff have said would undermine the integrity of the program.
According to the release, the mayor’s motion will ask the municipality for a number of changes including bigger and more visible signage installed quickly; and sending a notice to every home within walking distance of a speed camera to let them know the province might remove them. The notices would include contact information for their MPPs.
Chow’s motion to council on Friday is also expected to recommend limiting the number of tickets someone can be issued before their first ticket actually arrives in the mail.
In a , staff in the city’s transportation department said that grace period presents “considerable risks to the safety of Torontonians” and “compromises the integrity of the (speed camera) program.”
“Adopting an approach to speed enforcement practices which limit the infractions an individual receives prior to receiving their first notice may be perceived as a loophole that permits repeat offenders to escape consequences of breaking the law,” the report continued.Â
It will also “delay the feedback loop that informs drivers of their dangerous behaviour.”
Chow is expected to speak to reporters Thursday afternoon.
As an alternative to speed cameras, Ford has suggested using speed bumps and roundabouts. However, the province will not pay to remove the hundreds of speed cameras currently installed around Ontario.
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News of the province’s move angered º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøcity council members, most of whom cited repeated studies showing that automated speed cameras — authorized by Ford’s government in 2019 — slow vehicles and reduce bad driver behaviour.
Chow’s motion will also ask the province to provide their “road safety rationale and data” for removing the speed cameras.
While the province sets the rules around the speed camera system, including signage and that they have to be installed in community safety or school zones, it is the city that decides where those zones are designated, including near schools.
More to come.
Mahdis Habibinia is part of the Star's city hall bureau, based
in Toronto. Reach her via email: mhabibinia@thestar.ca
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