Automated Speed Enforcement technology (ASE, previously photo radar) is coming to Brampton streets and speeding tickets are expected to be issued as early as March 2020. The technology is expected to be a critical tool in ensuring drivers abide by speed limits around schools and designated community safety zones.
Peel Police, Mayor Brown, City Councillor Jeff Bowman and city staff were on hand Thursday to present the first public notice sign that is required to be installed 90-days prior to the start of enforcement and fines.
The technology will be first deployed in the Cherrytree Public School Area near Ray Lawson Blvd and Cherrytree Dr, coincidentally just down the street from the Brampton Provincial Offences Court.
ASE is an automated system that uses a camera and a speed measurement device to help reduce speed in identified areas (school zones and community safety zones across Ontario). ASE captures and records images of vehicles travelling in excess of the posted limit. Pilot programs run by the City of Toronto between September and December 2018 highlighted the magnitude of the problem with drivers regularly driver much higher than the posted limit. One driver was recorded travelling over 202km/h in a 40km/h zone on Renforth Ave. On Rockcliffe Blvd in Toronto, with a 30km/h limit, 60% of drivers were recorded travelling 10km/h over the limit.
Critics of ASE claim that photo radar is returning to all municipal streets and not just around schools, claiming that municipalities can designate anywhere a “Community Safety Zone” and adopt the technology everywhere. Photo radar last ended in Ontario during the summer of 1995 under the direction of Premier Mike Harris who claimed that it did not make highways any safer.
The city has not indicated what threshold if any over the posted speed limit will be used to issue a ticket. In the coming months, city staff will be working with the Mayor and Councillors to determine additional locations across Brampton where future ASE will be installed. A full report including an implementation plan is expected in early 2020. Residents should contact their Councillors to have input in the site selection process.
