By spring 2020, Toronto will have 50 new photo radar cameras on city streets as part of its Vision Zero Road Safety to halt the rising number of pedestrian and cyclist deaths.
The Ontario photo radar photo radar cameras will be installed by the Ontario government. Mayor John Tory has been pushing for these cameras since the time of the Kathleen Wynne Liberal government in 2016.
The plan calls for the speed enforcement cameras to be put in place on those local roads where there have been the most observed collisions and pedestrian/cyclist fatalities.
School zones and community safety zones will also receive cameras. Currently there is no plan to place them on any of the highways. According to Global News the bill passed by the government outlines that the cameras will only be put on roads where the speed limit is 80km/h or less.
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Signage will be erected in those areas where the speed enforcement cameras are set up.
Between 2008 and 2012, an average of 2,074 pedestrians were hit by cars every year. Basically, six people are struck every day in Toronto.
A report released by Chief Mark Saunders to the Toronto Police Services Board recently showed that there has been a dramatic reduction in traffic enforcement by police, with no dedicated officers since 2013. Police data reveals that during that time period crashes spiked.
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Statistics also show that Toronto police enforcement of Criminal Code traffic offences (serious charges such as dangerous driving, failure to remain at the scene of a crash or impaired driving) sunk to a new low in 2018. This continued a trend of year-over-year declines each year since 2012.
The new cameras will capture the date and time, the rate of speed recorded, a description of the location, as well as a description of the vehicle, according to the legislation, The cameras will also need to provide a clear image of the license plate, and a description of which direction it was travelling, as well as the speed limit on the particular road.
Earlier this year Tory pledged a crack down on scofflaw motorists in an effort to cut down on the number of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities in the city.
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“I have asked transportation services to move immediately to begin the process laid out in the provincial regulations to roll out speed cameras in 50 locations across the city,” Tory wrote in reference to the cameras.
More than 80 per cent of the pedestrians killed on Toronto's roads so far this year are older adults or seniors, Toronto police data reveals.
No tickets will be handed out until the spring even though the speed enforcement cameras may be in place before then.
A clause in the Highway Traffic Act that requires that drivers have 90 days of a grace period to get acquainted with the new regulations before they can be enforced.
