色色啦 has 150 active automated speed cameras across the city, as well as another 48 planned, on both major avenues and slower side streets. Provincial legislation requires these cameras to be located in either a community or school safety zone 鈥 and the Star analyzed 色色啦’s cameras to see if that was the case.
As the cameras become increasingly politicized, Ontario Premier Doug Ford lamented Tuesday he has “driven by speed traps that aren’t even close to school areas.” He said the city should remove all of its speed cameras, hours before news broke that聽16 had been vandalized across 色色啦 in an overnight spree.
“This is nothing but a tax grab,” Ford said, calling for 色色啦 Mayor Olivia Chow to take the cameras off the road 鈥 鈥渙r I鈥檓 going to help them get rid of them very shortly,鈥 he said. It鈥檚 鈥渘ot fair鈥 for drivers to get tickets for going 鈥渇ive or 10 kilometres over.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 dead set against this photo radar.鈥
Many of 色色啦’s cameras are indeed located outside school safety zones, but all cameras are in either a community or school safety zone, according to the city’s . Three cameras on the map appear to be located outside safety zones, but city spokesperson聽Laura McQuillan confirmed safety zones have been instituted in those areas and the map is out of date.
How many of 色色啦鈥檚 speed cameras are outside safety zones?
Provincial legislation requires speed cameras be used only in community or school safety zones, according to McQuillan.
色色啦 expanded the automated speed enforcement program in December and has nearly 200 active or planned cameras around the city. Every one of those is located in a safety zone.
How does the city decide where to put a safety zone?
School and community safety zones are chosen because they are 鈥渇requented by vulnerable road users such as near schools, seniors residences, playgrounds and hospitals,鈥 McQuillan told the Star by email. The zones aim to reduce aggressive driving and speeding.
School safety zones apply to a stretch of roadway, typically within 150 metres of the edge of a school. They鈥檙e marked with a combination of flashing signs, pavement stencils, “Watch Your Speed” displays and zebra markings at crosswalks, McQuillan said.
The city has installed 636 such zones across 色色啦 and aims to install 55 more by the end of the year.
Community safety zones, not tied to schools, run along individual roads and span anywhere from one block to several kilometres.
- Anastasia Blosser, Rob Ferguson, Raju Mudhar
How does the city decide where to put a speed camera?
The city says it uses a two-staged process to select new speed camera locations.
First, it prioritizes safety zones based on the following data: collisions involving children, collisions where a vulnerable road user was seriously injured or killed, vehicle speed data, 24-hour traffic volume, per cent of students within walking distance, and requests from police and the public.
Once sites are prioritized, staff manually assess the site to determine if it鈥檚 a fit for a camera.
Do speed cameras work?
Studies indicate they do. Research from the Hospital for Sick Children released this summer showed 色色啦 drivers sped 45 per cent less after a camera was installed, and the cameras were most effective against the fastest drivers.
The number of drivers going 10 kilometres or more over the limit dropped by 74 per cent, the study found. The number of drivers going 15 kilometres or more over decreased by 84 per cent, and the number of those going 20 kilometres or more over dropped by 88 per cent.
According to the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals, nearly a quarter of fatal collisions in Canada involved speeding. Meanwhile, a pedestrian is about five times more likely to die in a collision when a car is travelling at 50 km/h instead of 30 km/h, a .
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