Public must be heard on photo radar deployment

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/11/2024 (330 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Whether it’s a traffic safety measure, a potential new revenue source or both, it’s an idea on which Brandonites should have been consulted.

Last Saturday, it was reported that the City of Brandon had brought forward a resolution to the annual Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention, asking delegates to vote in favour of requesting the provincial government to amend the Highway Traffic Act in order to authorize the installation of intersection safety cameras and photo radar devices in all municipalities throughout Manitoba.

At present, the use of such devices are only permitted in some areas of the City of Winnipeg, as part of image-capturing enforcement systems specifically authorized by the act. They can’t be used anywhere else in the province, and our city council apparently disagrees with that limitation.

We say “apparently” because there has been virtually no discussion regarding the issue at the council table since 2021, when Coun. Bruce Luebke (Ward 6) presented a motion to council asking the provincial government to give the City of Brandon and Brandon Police Service permission to use “image capturing enforcement systems” in the city.

Luebke argued at the time that it was discriminatory for the devices to only be authorized for deployment in Winnipeg, and that the introduction of the enforcement systems in Brandon would make the city’s streets safer.

In response, city council agreed to seek more information before approaching the province. The issue appeared to be either dead or dormant until this past weekend, however, when Brandonites learned that the city was leading the push to make red light cameras and photo radar available throughout the province.

“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,” Luebke told the Sun last week. “That means it would be lobbied for by AMM on behalf of all municipalities in the province.”

His enthusiasm for photo radar and red light cameras is obvious, but it is far from clear that Brandonites feel the same way. The potential deployment of the devices was never discussed during the 2022 municipal election campaign, and city council has never consulted the public regarding the issue since then.

If those discussions had occurred, our mayor and council may have learned that it is far from clear as to whether red light cameras and photo radar are effective in making streets safer. Some studies have concluded that the devices cause drivers to slow down, but other studies have found that they cause drivers to speed up at intersections in order to get through before the light turns red. Still other studies have concluded that the devices cause accidents because many drivers slam on their brakes when they suddenly realize they are approaching a camera.

Beyond those concerns, there is also the widespread sentiment that photo radar and red light cameras are just another way for local governments to take money out of the pockets of residents — that the devices are a cash grab by local governments.

On that issue, the detractors may have a valid argument. In 2023, the City of Winnipeg reported more than $11.5 million in gross revenues from its Photo Enforcement Program. Almost $5.7 million of that amount was paid out in expenses, however, including “salaries and benefits of the Winnipeg Police Service members assigned to work on the Photo Enforcement program on a full-time basis (12.6 per cent) and “the cost of working with outside contractors on enforcement (Conduent and operators) (83.8 per cent).”

Conduent Incorporated is a company based in New Jersey, meaning that the City of Winnipeg has turned photo radar and red light cameras into a multimillion-dollar cash machine that is stripping millions of dollars from that city’s economy each year, and sending almost half of that cash out of the country.

It is far from clear that Brandonites want that, or if they would favour less-expensive “traffic calming” measures such as redesigned high-speed streets, narrower vehicle lanes, curb alterations, improved signage and increased enforcement.

The resolution was passed by the AMM delegates yesterday, but that does not guarantee the expansion of photo radar and red light cameras across the province. It is up to the province to make that decision.

If the province does decide to authorize the deployment of the devices, it would be wise for our mayor and councillors to make a genuine effort to consult with Brandonites before deciding to deploy the devices on our city’s streets.