York Region could be first in province to use photo radar in school zones

YorkRegion.com
Nov. 10, 2016
By Teresa Latchford

Photo radar could be coming to a school zone near you.

The province has announced its intention to introduce legislation that will target unsafe drivers and help protect pedestrians, especially school children.

The law, if passed, would give municipalities more tools to help improve safety in school and community safety zones including automated speed enforcement technology that takes photos of the licence plates of speeding vehicles so that tickets can be issued, the ability to drop speed limits in urban areas and a simplified process for municipalities to apply and participate in Ontario’s red light camera program.

The changes come from municipalities’ requests to improve safety in their communities due to the frequency of collisions involving children, seniors, cyclists and other pedestrians.

“Municipalities and our road safety partners have strongly advocated for tougher measures to stop dangerous drivers and better protect pedestrians,” Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said. “These measures would strengthen road safety in school zones and help municipalities keep their communities safe.”

This is a welcome announcement for York Region and will add to the work the region has already completed to increase the safety of school zones, according to Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen.

In 2012, a proposal tabled by Van Bynen to deem all schools zones in the region community safety zones was approved by regional council and the new designation saw the enforcement of increased fines for speeding and other traffic act violations in those specified areas.

“We decided we needed blanket protection for schools because that is where the highest concentration of children and vehicles are,” he said. “It was groundbreaking at the time we made the decision.”

Since then, regional council has received a report deeming the change a success including positive feedback from the public.

This puts York Region ahead of the game, according to Ontario Safety League’s Brian Patterson who has been advocating for these changes for the past five years.

“With all the work the region has already done with the school zones, enforcement could begin as soon as next year if they choose to do so,” he said. “It’s also cost recoverable since any fines come back to the municipality.”

While York Regional Police support any initiative to make the community more safe, it will ultimately be up to the region to approve and implement photo radar.