Ontario speed cameras to soon be removed after bill passes

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Speed ​​cameras will be removed across Ontario two weeks after Premier Doug Ford's government passed legislation Thursday to ban them, although it is unclear when the premier's widely publicized alternative traffic calming measures will replace them.

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Ford said speed cameras do not slow down drivers – although evidence collected by municipalities and Hospital for Sick Children researchers suggests otherwise – and believes measures such as speed bumps, roundabouts and signs with flashing lights are more effective.

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However, Transport Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria was unable to say when the measures would replace speed cameras.

“We will ultimately have temporary signage, larger signage that will be in place before the 14th in all… municipal areas that are affected by speed cameras,” he said after question period.

“Over the next few weeks we will continue to work with municipalities on future funding, on additional measures they can take to improve traffic calming.”

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Ford said municipalities would be encouraged to use speed bumps, raised crosswalks and roundabouts, and that a new fund would be created to help offset some of those costs, but the government had not yet provided an amount.

Burlington Mayor Marianne Meade Ward, who was among more than 20 mayors calling on the province to change rather than abandon the speed camera program, said municipalities have heard nothing more about the fund.

“The government must provide funding and alternative measures, whatever they are, must be put in place before speed cameras are removed,” she said in an interview.

“Otherwise, we have a significant security gap.”

According to her, the signs are not enough. Speed ​​humps are inappropriate on some busy roads around schools, and roundabouts are impractical and expensive, Meade Ward said.

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“Speed ​​cameras work, and they are cost-effective because they shift the burden of paying for speed cameras from taxpayers to lawbreakers.”

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said she is concerned about the removal of speed cameras, especially at a time when there will be no speed cameras or alternative measures.

“There are certainly a lot of different things we can do to slow down the pace of people's lives,” she said. “But I’m telling you, if during this time one pedestrian, if one child is injured, it will be on the shoulders of this prime minister.”

Liberal Leader John Fraser said removing speed cameras would make communities less safe and goes against evidence collected by municipalities, research from the Hospital for Sick Children and Metropolitan University of Toronto, and recommendations from the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.

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“Today, in a hurry, Doug Ford said no to police chiefs, he said no to SickKids and he said, 'I stand with the downtown Toronto vandals who are tearing down the speed cameras.'

Ford's public battle against speed cameras began in earnest after 17 automated speed cameras were disabled in Toronto over two days.

The measures to ban speed cameras were contained in the Red Tape Cutting Bill, which the government fast-tracked by limiting debate and skipping public hearings.

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