By Glenn Hicks

Photo speed enforcement to stay

Sep 17, 2018 | 5:00 PM

The move to make photo speed enforcement (PSE) permanent on our roads is not a cash grab but a way to invest more in traffic safety measures, according to the provincial government. And the mayor of Prince Albert says the way fine revenues will be distributed will help improve traffic safety.

The government announced the move Monday after two years of data showed pilot projects in Saskatoon and Regina reduced the number of speeders in high-speed locations and school zones, resulting in fewer collisions and injuries.

A new committee involving representatives from government, SGI, RCMP, municipal police, Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities and Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations will decide what high-risk areas could benefit from photo speed enforcement.

“We don’t want it to be and we won’t tolerate it to be a cash grab,” Joe Hargrave, the minister responsible for SGI told paNOW. “[PSE] has to be in areas where there’s a need, where there’s a history of bad speeding or accidents and injuries.”

He stressed any new location for cameras will have prominent and permanent signs to ensure drivers are aware they are approaching a PSE location.

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Hargrave added rural and municipal representatives would see funding made available for improved traffic safety measures.

“There’s the occasional person who thinks they have to pass everybody, and they will need to contribute to the Provincial Traffic Safety Fund,” he said.

As of next year 25 per cent of ticket revenue in municipal locations will go into Regina’s general revenue, but the remaining 75 per cent will be split 50/50 between the Provincial Traffic Safety Fund and the municipality to invest in traffic safety initiatives such as traffic calming, signal upgrades or pedestrian crossings. Hargrave added any city or community looking to install PSE could make that submission through the committee and SGI would offer the statistical information about that problem location.

Meanwhile Prince Albert’s mayor was happy with the funding formula from fines.

“Any time we can get funding to relieve our tight budgets I appreciate it,” Greg Dionne told paNOW. ”We spend a lot of our budget having police officers at school zones writing tickets and we want to make those zones safer.”

Dionne said he wanted more traffic calming devices in place around the city like the raised crosswalks at Ecole Vickers and measures taken to slow traffic in some neighbourhoods such as Nordale.

“You know you always hear about photo radar being a money and tax grab, but in this case communities who apply for the funding have to come up with a plan for adding traffic calming devices,” he said.

Dionne labelled the news “fantastic” that communities would be part of the committee deciding if and where photo speed enforcement would be located.

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow