The provincial government is halting the addition of new radar devices and photo radar locations pending a review on whether the practice improves safety or simply collects revenue.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade
The provincial government is temporarily halting new photo radar devices and new locations, effective Dec. 1, while it collects data to refine the rules.
Transport Minister Rick McIver said a previous review indicated the current data is “limited and inconsistent.”
“We need more strict requirements to ensure photo radar is being used for safety rather than revenue,” said McIver. “Albertans need to have confidence that photo radar really is an effective way to keep them safe on the roads.”
The guidelines need to be refined regarding site selection, data collection and system upgrades, he said.
Police Chief Andy McGrogan does not believe the restrictions will affect where Medicine Hat Police Service places photo radar equipment within the city but it will put plans on hold regarding hand-held laser photo radar devices.
McGrogan said the purchase of laser devices was being considered, at $20,000 per unit, for areas where it is difficult to position photo radar vans. This will be put on hold now until after the government’s review is complete.
The government’s freeze on new photo radar devices does not mean there is no photo radar is use.
“There will still be photo radar on Alberta roads during this freeze – not more, not less,” said McIver.
Currently only 27 of about 350 municipalities in Alberta have photo radar. They generated $220 million in revenue in 2016/17, said McIver. According to a review of photo radar in 2018, Alberta’s photo radar device per-capita ratio is three times higher than other provinces.
The first photo radar units in Alberta were introduced in 1988. The province updated photo radar guidelines in February 2019 after an independent third-party review that found photo radar operations showed only a marginal contribution to traffic safety, said McIver.
The NDP government banned or put strict limits on photo radar at reputed cash cow spots, including transition zones on highways where speed limits can change quickly, and on multiple-lane highways.
McIver said the United Conservative government will continue with those bans.
Justice critic Kathleen Ganley said that under the NDP, municipalities and police were to have clear plans in place by next spring, backed by collision data, to demonstrate their photo radar locations were there for safety first. She says McIver’s review may be a way for the government to delay those plans, so that municipalities can make up for revenues stripped from them by the UCP in the recent budget.
The government will be working with the 27 municipalities to enhance data collection and standardize reporting to improve site selection criteria and focus on traffic safety, said McIver.
Currently each of the 27 municipalities decides what data it will collect. Doug Schweitzer, minister of justice and solicitor general, said the government needs to be able to compare “apples with apples.”
McGrogan says as long as the province works with the municipality and police to determine what is collected and reported, he is fine with that process.
The review is expected to be handled within government, said McIver. Although he did not have a budget amount he said he did not expect it “to cost a lot.” Although no deadline to complete this process was given, McIver said it could take “about two years.”
“It’s the time that we think that we need to take to get it right,” said McIver.
While McIver would not give an opinion on whether he felt photo radar was being used as a “cash cow,” he said there are some Albertans who feel that it is.
Depending on the evidence collected in the review, McIver said in a press conference that the option of banning photo radar is on the table.
“If it’s for safety we’re going to keep it, if it’s only for revenue collection we won’t. We don’t want to presuppose where the evidence will take us,” said McIver.
— with files from The Canadian Press
