A Red Deer city councillor wants to put the brakes on Speed on Green photo-radar fines, pending a provincial review.
Coun. Tanya Handley is asking council to consider delaying the fines that are to be mailed out to drivers who are caught on intersection cameras speeding through green lights.
In January, Red Deer city council approved the implementation of automated intersection speed enforcement as a way of boosting safety at high-risk intersections.
Under terms of the program’s implementation, warning tickets have been issued since July 1 to any motorist caught on camera speeding through green lights, as well as running red lights (the latter has been fineable through photo radar for some time).
Actual fines for Speed on Green are supposed to be mailed out to offending drivers starting Aug. 11.
However, Handley maintains that the city should first wait for the results of a provincial government review of photo radar use, before fining drivers. In May, the government announced it’s reviewing use of photo radar across the province, as well as examining policies, site selection, and the revenue generated in each municipality.
Handley believes the city should continue educating the public about the Speed on Green program by issuing warning tickets until the provincial review is completed this fall.
Since the City of Red Deer hasn’t updated its own photo radar policies since 2010, she also wants a local policy review to be undertaken, in accordance with the results of the provincial review.
At any given time, 10 traffic cameras are being rotated around Red Deer intersections every two weeks. The intersections that could be equipped with these photo radar cameras are made known through signage, and the locations for each two-week period are posted on the City of Red Deer website.
Handley’s notice of motion is expected to be discussed at the July 24 city council meeting.
lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com