The province released the results of a photo radar review on Thursday and says it wants to stop mobile ticketing from being used as a cash-cow.
A study on Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) was undertaken to determine if ATE contributes to traffic safety, how much revenue is being generated and to see if municipalities are compliant with training and technology guidelines.
The review found that ATE slightly improved traffic safety and that photo radar is responsible for a 1.4 per cent reduction in collision rates and a 5.3 per cent decrease in the proportion of fatal collisions over a 10-year period.
Transportation Minister Brian Mason said that the goal is to eliminate photo radar as a revenue generating tool and that the guidelines are being updated to focus on safety.
“Photo radar operations must contribute to significant traffic safety outcomes, like reducing collisions and saving lives,” said Transportation Minister Brian Mason. “If it’s used at all, it should be used to improve safety and protect the lives of people who travel on Alberta’s roads.”
In 2016, the City of Calgary generated $38 million and the City of Edmonton generated $50.7 million from photo radar.
Mason says the review was conducted by a private consultant and the results were submitted to the Ministry of Transportation in September 2018. The Minister says additional data will be required before the province’s photo radar guidelines are potentially altered on a permanent basis.
“The intervening period has been spent working through what the response would be to the report and the findings of the report,” explained Mason. “The things that the report identified were things that we need more information on. It is not a complete, final report that allows us to make a final conclusion or a final set of policies.”
Beginning in June 2019, ATE may no longer be placed in 'speed transition zones', locations near speed limit signs where the limit changes, or on high-speed multi-lane highways including Stoney Trail.
According to the province, 27 municipalities in Alberta currently use photo radar and operate under photo radar guidelines that were put in place in 2014.
Officials with the Calgary Police Service say the findings of the review and any potential changes to the guidelines are unlikely to affect its program. In a statement released Thursday afternoon, CPS authorities said "We will make any required reporting adjustments and will take additional time to review the findings in depth to determine any further impacts. We are supportive of the review’s findings as they are intended to enhance public and officer safety."
With files from CTV's Jordan Kanygin
