Ontario Premier Ford Vows Funds for Speed Bumps, Lights to Replace Speed Cameras

Ontario Considers Funding Speed Bumps Over Automated Speed Cameras

Premier Doug Ford is proposing to provide financial assistance to municipalities across Ontario to replace automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras with alternative traffic calming measures, such as speed bumps and flashing lights. This move comes as Ford expresses his desire to remove speed cameras across the province.

Provincial Funding for Road Design Changes

On Monday, Premier Ford announced plans to allocate provincial funding to municipalities for implementing road design changes aimed at reducing speeding. He believes these changes will be more effective than speed cameras. Specifically, he suggests turnabouts, speed bumps, and flashing signs.

"We’re going to be giving municipalities across the province a lot of money to put in all sorts of street calming methods from turnabouts to speed bumps to flashing signs," he said. "And that’s going to slow people down; these speed traps do not slow people down.”

Mayors' Input and "Tax Grab" Concerns

Ford indicated that the formal announcement would be made alongside unnamed mayors. He claims many mayors have expressed concerns to him that speed cameras are a "tax grab," stating they need money for roads. Ford argues that the government should not rely on people's "pocketbooks" during tough economic times.

Opposition to Camera Removal

Ford's opposition to speed cameras intensified after recent vandalism incidents in Toronto. However, both the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario have urged the government to maintain the cameras.

"These tools are especially deployed in school zones and community safety zones, where slowing down saves lives and prevents serious injuries," the police chiefs wrote.

The police chiefs argue that ASE is a traffic safety tool aimed at deterring speeding and reducing collisions, rather than a revenue-generating mechanism.

Effectiveness of Speed Cameras

A July study conducted by SickKids and Toronto Metropolitan University revealed that speed cameras led to a 45% reduction in speeding in Toronto. This data stands in contrast to Premier Ford's opinion.

Conflicting Views

The Ontario government's proposal to replace automated speed cameras with speed bumps and other traffic calming measures has generated a debate between supporters who view cameras as a tax grab, and law enforcement and safety advocates who see them as an essential tool for reducing speeding and saving lives in school zones and community safety zones.