Calgary's police chief blasts province's photo radar decision

Calgary police Chief Mark Neufeld is in disbelief following the province's decision to ban photo radar on numbered provincial highways and will only be allowed in school, playground and construction zones.

"We will see an increase in serious injury and fatal collisions on our roadways," said Neufeld.

"Twenty-four such Albertans have died in fatal collisions on the streets of Calgary in 2023, and year-to-date, there's been 25 killed on the streets of Calgary in 2024."

Neufeld says he has tried eight times to meet with Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen since July, every time he was unsuccessful.

"I believe we are trusted partners in this province, but this doesn't reflect that," said Neufeld.

"(Dreeshen) talks about having done a deep dive in relation to this issue, and I'm just concerned maybe he's spent quite a bit of time in the shallow end of the pool."

Dreeshen says the province is reducing photo radar locations about 70 per cent from 2,200 to 650, assessing each location over the coming months.

"Photo radar penalizes hardworking Albertans without improving the safety of our roads," said Dreeshen.

"Last year alone, Alberta's photo radar system generated $145 million, but this revenue came at the expense of public trust."

However, Neufeld says Dreeshen calling the traffic enforcement initiative a "cash cow" and "fishing hole" is unprofessional.

He says that one of the province's identified top five locations that needed addressing is on Beddington Trail and Country Hills Boulevard.

"Year-to-date, we know because of the intersection safety devices at the location, that over nine million vehicles have gone through that intersection thus far in 2024, there's been 14,500 speeding tickets that have been issued there," said Neufeld.

That equates to nearly 40 per day.

Neufeld says traffic incidents in the city's top 20 collision locations saw a 23 per cent reduction in total collisions between 2001-2023. Injury collisions were down 51.5 percent.

The new changes come into effect on April 1.