A speed camera outside the Givins/Shaw Public School in Toronto, on Feb. 3, 2020.Fred Lum/the Globe and Mail
Albertans can be relieved – a decades-long irritant will soon largely be snuffed out. After what the government describes as a thorough analysis and consultation, it is taking “bold steps” to restore public trust.
Alberta has used photo radar to help enforce speed limits since 1987, but the current number of sites will be dramatically scaled back, according to the province. In recent years, both NDP and United Conservative Party governments have been whittling down the province’s reliance on cameras. The newest development is the province’s plan to shut down 70 per cent of the current 2,200 sites within a matter of months.
And to prove how serious it is, the responsible Minister of the Crown donned a custom-made apron for the announcement held last week at an Edmonton restaurant. A slab of meat stood in the backdrop. And on his apron: The words “Cash Cow” contained in a red circle with a diagonal slash.
“This is a historic day for Alberta drivers as we turn up the heat, we fire up the grill, and say goodbye to the photo radar cash cow,” Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen told reporters.
The government plans to review every photo radar site in the province over the next four months. Ticketing on provincial highways will end, and photo radar will largely be restricted to school, playground and construction zones.
Photo radar at major intersections will be restricted to catching people plowing through a red light instead of nabbing speeders. And a government that is usually completely okay with Alberta being an outlier notes it’s problematic the province has way more photo radar sites than others across Canada.
“The war on cars is coming to an end,” Mr. Dreeshen said earlier on social media, drawing a line from 2010 and then-Toronto mayor Rob Ford.
There might be pluses and minuses of a site-by-site review, and a real debate about whether photo radar cameras come at the expense of public trust. But it’s difficult now to separate the policy from the preconceived UCP determination that 70 per cent of sites need to be shut down, and the glib visuals of the beef-on-a-bun newser.
In contrast, Calgary chief constable Mark Neufeld held a news conference after Mr. Dreeshen’s that was devoid of props. No one likes getting a speeding ticket, he conceded. Traffic fine revenue is split on a 40/60 basis, between the province and municipalities. Mr. Neufeld said some of the latter percentage is put toward the traffic-safety and policing budget.
But there’s a whole list of other reasons why photo radar sites are needed, he said. Camera-generated tickets are a rare aspect of a police officer’s job that can be automated. And even if police forces had the officers to catch the number of speeders that cameras do, which they don’t, there are many high-speed roadways where there’s not enough room to pull motorists over.
And according to data, drivers are motivated to slow down at intersections where there is a camera, even if the realization comes slowly – perhaps only after they get a ticket in the mail weeks later. All types of collision numbers drop down, the chief said. Comparing Alberta to other provinces isn’t an apples-to-apples juxtaposition, he added.
Mr. Neufeld also took to task Mr. Dreeshen’s tone, saying police chiefs aren’t pleased with him referring to automated traffic enforcement as “cash cows” or “fishing holes.” This is actually a real debate about how best to decrease injuries and deaths, he noted.
Despite the Minister’s contention in June that he would talk to municipalities and law enforcement officials on this proposed policy change, Mr. Neufeld – also president of the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police – said he made eight separate requests to meet with the Minister but nothing materialized. Mr. Dreeshen said he met with other Calgary police officers but “the chief didn’t show up.”
The UCP has opened political battles on far too many fronts at once. Now it’s not only teachers, doctors, nurses, academics, municipal politicians, environmentalists, the federal Liberals and New Democrats – it’s police chiefs, too. It’s a tiring way to govern.
The government’s stunts have real-world consequences, too. Already, people are showing less respect for institutions, including policing, and having a cabinet minister speak about a policing tool in such a disparaging way doesn’t help, Mr. Neufeld said. “A loss of trust serves nobody, and makes the job of the honourable police members doing the work on the front lines all the more difficult.”
Even if there are good reasons to cull the number of photo radar sites in some cases, using a meat trope makes it all seem like a gimmick – one not meant to ensnare speeders, but voters.