The City of Brampton Stands Firm in Support of Automated Speed Cameras
The City of Brampton is fervently advocating for the continuation of their automated speed cameras (ASE) and is open to negotiating with the province regarding the deployment of these cameras.
Recently, Brampton City Council unanimously opposed the premier’s proposal to abolish automated speed enforcement across 40 municipalities that currently utilize the program.
This decision was prompted by a series of incidents in Toronto where numerous speed cameras were vandalized, including one on Parkside Drive that was damaged multiple times in the past six months.
Leading the charge in Brampton is Councillor Rowena Santos, who strongly believes that speed cameras play a vital role in saving lives. She emphasized the importance of these devices during a visit with CityNews to Main Street South, where a speed camera is strategically placed near a school, churches, city hall, and a prominent downtown park.
Santos pointed out that in areas like this, where traditional traffic calming measures like speed bumps are impractical, automated enforcement serves as a crucial tool in promoting road safety. She highlighted that due to the presence of the speed camera, the compliance rate with the 50 km/hr speed limit on Main Street South is an impressive 96%.
By conducting a radar gun assessment, Santos demonstrated the stark contrast in driver behavior on Main Street with and without a speed camera. The data revealed that vehicles without the camera exhibited significantly higher speeds, posing a greater risk to public safety.
Brampton initially launched its ASE program in 2020 with 50 ground-mounted cameras, which have since been expanded to 185 pole-mounted cameras across the city, along with the establishment of a state-of-the-art ticket processing center.
Santos revealed that the motion she put forward, and was unanimously endorsed, includes proposed compromises aimed at striking a balance between road safety and community concerns. These compromises involve restricting cameras to school zones, adjusting speed thresholds based on peak and non-peak hours, and introducing limitations on the number of tickets issued to a single license plate within a specified timeframe.
In response to the city’s stance, the Minister of Transportation’s office reiterated Premier Doug Ford and Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria’s firm stance on the matter, labeling speed cameras as a “cash grab.” Despite this, numerous municipalities and the Ontario Chiefs of Police Association attest to the positive impact of these cameras in curbing speeding and preventing road accidents.