Brandon to make road safety pitch

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This article was published 23/11/2024 (525 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Brandon plans to reiterate the need for increased road safety at an upcoming convention in the provincial capital next week.

The event will be hosted by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM), which represents 137 municipalities in Manitoba. The convention draws close to 700 delegates, including elected officials and chief administrative officers, from across the province.

Brandon city officials attending the event are hoping that an earlier resolution proposing an amendment to the province’s Highway Traffic Act will be passed and formally adopted at the convention.

This would allow for the installation of intersection safety cameras (or red-light cameras) and photo radar at traffic intersections, helping bring down road collisions and improve road safety in cities across Manitoba.

Currently, safety cameras and photo radars have only been installed in select locations in the City of Winnipeg as part of image-capturing enforcement systems provisioned by the Act.

They are used to track the speed of vehicles or enforce red lights at intersections.

The measure was originally proposed in 2021 by Coun. Bruce Luebke (Ward 6) when he brought a motion to council, to amend the Highway Traffic Act.

“If image enforcement is allowed in the City of Winnipeg, why wouldn’t it be allowed in the rest of the province? Why isn’t it available to any other municipality?” said Luebke.

The introduction of these enforcement systems in Brandon would help improve street safety in the second largest city in the province, he added.

An earlier resolution by Luebke was also sent to the then chief of the Brandon Police Service, Wayne Balcaen, whose report to council was approved, but then the matter kind of “slipped through the cracks.”

A misunderstanding between the council and city administration as to who would correspond with the province to request the change in law was cited as the reason, explained Luebke, adding that the request was only sent in 2023 prompting a response.

“Basically, the province said they’d take the request under advisement, which is always a nice way of saying, thanks for your letter, but we’re not doing anything,” Luebke said.

He is hoping that a change in the provincial government in October last year might prompt a change in the status quo. “With the change, I thought it would be prudent to make this request again to the new government.”

But the city has modified its strategy this time around.

“Rather than having it just from the City of Brandon, the council adopted a resolution in May of this year to go to the Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention and present it there as a resolution. And that means it would be lobbied for by AMM on behalf of all municipalities in the province,” Luebke explained.

AMM actively advocates to the province for change to address the needs, priorities, and interests of municipalities, said Nick Krawetz, the organization’s director of policy and communications.

It typically holds two conventions each year in the spring and the fall. The upcoming convention will be held from Monday to Wednesday next week in Winnipeg.

While Krawetz couldn’t say if Brandon’s resolution would be adopted at the convention, he confirmed that it had met the requirements set by AMM.

“They’ve already gone through one or two steps prior to making it to the convention,” he said. “On the convention floor, all resolutions are debated and voted on by delegates from across the province, not just from their districts.”

Luebke’s initiative has found strong support with Brandon City Council. Even though he will be unable to attend next week’s convention, the city will be represented by Mayor Jeff Fawcett and councillors Shaun Cameron (Ward 4), Jason Splett (Ward 8), and Tyson Tame (Ward 10), who are looking forward to hearing the resolution read and voted on.

“I commend Bruce for coming up with the resolution and for wanting to put that discussion forward, because I think all ideas are good,” said Fawcett. He added that he would like more information about the benefits installing the cameras, and what type of equipment would be required.

“I don’t have any preconceived notions about it. It was council that put this resolution forward,” Fawcett said. “And if it does pass, then it does give the opportunity to have further discussion. I’m all in favour of doing that.”

Cameron said the issue of safety would remain central in all the decisions taken by council.

If the municipalities pass the city’s resolution to amend the Highway Traffic Act, AMM will send a notice to the ministers of Transportation and Infrastructure, and to the Attorney General.

According to Krawetz, they usually hear back from the government a few months later, and then the AMM team will draw up a plan on how to advocate further.

“We can make progress rather quickly, but sometimes it takes much longer. We have some of our resolutions dating back over 10 years, for example,” said Krawetz. “It’s just a matter of continuing to advocate and push on things to make a case for why change is necessary in accordance with the resolution.”

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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