Just woke up from the screeching tires of another late night street race. Now that I’m up, I might as well write about something where everyone seems to have an opinion. When it comes to the issue of speed cameras there should be enough space for middle of the road consensus.
Ontario Doug Ford says he will ban them while other politicians have put their finger in the air and banned them already - see former Provincial Liberal leader Steven Del Duca (now Mayor of Vaughan) have already done so. They see a political winner in going against the cash grab and the surveillance state vibe cameras create.
Those in favour of the cameras rightfully point out one clear fact - they work. Perhaps too well for their survival. Cities that once deployed a few in trouble spots expanded them in community zones where there was a need or a vocal neighborhood who wanted them. Here in Guelph 4 cameras became 12, but at least here we have kept them where they belong - in school zones. Other places have deployed them far and wide and fuelled a backlash.
Being a hot topic, I’ve been asked a few times why I haven’t used this space to state my own view. Perhaps it’s because I have never received a speed camera ticket. But with the mail carriers on strike again, who knows if I have one coming. That has been one legitimate complaint I have heard is that people have received multiple tickets before being made aware of their first infraction so they could alter their behaviour.
Ford has taken on the war on the car crusaders by stepping into municipal politics to first pushback on bike lanes and now speed cameras. I don’t support this overreach because whether you agree or disagree with these moves - they’re local concerns and should be decided by democratically elected local leaders. People already lament the lack of turnout for municipal elections - reducing local government’s relevance isn’t going to help with that.
For those who want to keep the cameras and the bike lanes a little empathy wouldn’t hurt. We do need to share and make the roads safe for all, but we all benefit when traffic is moving. Whether you take the car, public transit or god forbid an emergency vehicle, getting to your destination in a timely manner is a must. The need to continually add roads and lanes where possible to keep pace with growth can’t be ignored because of ideology. Ford’s popularity isn’t by accident. He’s tapping into driver angst that obviously comes from somewhere.
With today’s traffic clogged streets people are turning to apps to save time. Sometimes that app sends you down the paths less travelled. Neighbours don’t like seeing their once quiet street now filled with cars and will push for calming measures and speed reduction - sometimes motivated by safety other times for peace and tranquility. Drivers who finally have an open road get frustrated by another obstacle or camera in their way. Of course that is still no excuse for anyone thinking speeding by kids to save time is okay.
So let’s move from the outside lanes on this issue and find the middle ground. If Ford still can’t help himself and must get involved in local politics, he needs to get it right.
Speed bumps advocates have to remember that emergency vehicles can’t fly over them in life and death situations. So keep the cameras for use in school zones with an adjusted km/hr buffer based on time of day. Add a signal or light that immediately tells the driver they have been caught. By adding a little more discretion to the system that locals can adopt should cause the backlash to die down.
Law and order are top priorities right now and we’re leaning on police like never before. Freeing them up to go after bigger fish - like those street racers should be something where we all can agree.
Written By Gregory Cawsey - Human Jays Fan!
