Red light camera cash tapped for court repairs

The city is using $500,000 from a swelling road safety reserve to fix its new courthouse even as cyclists ask in vain to fast-track construction of safer bike lanes.

The reserve fund is fed by tickets from the city’s 19 red light cameras, which are meant to help reduce deadly T-bone collisions at intersections.

All fine revenue above expenses — about $2 million a year — is set aside for road safety upgrades, with the reserve expected to hit $11 million by year ’s end.

That growing pot collected from $325 tickets will be used this year to fight speeders on the Linc, manage traffic in the north end and add pedestrian safety features such as ladder crossings.

But $500,000 will also be used to insulate a converted courthouse downtown that will handle provincial offences. The project meets reserve policy criteria because red light tickets make up a big proportion of those provincial offences, said city finance head Mike Zegarac.

Ryan McGreal expressed frustration the city is “redirecting” money meant primarily to protect pedestrians and cyclists. McGreal, a vocal advocate for safer street design on his Raise the Hammer website, pointed to recent resident appeals to redesign Aberdeen Avenue and build safer bike routes up the Mountain.

“Here we have a situation where a cyclist has been killed, the solution does not appear to be technically difficult and yet there is no sense of urgency to get it done,” he said. “In general, we take way too long to get anything done on these projects.”

Kindergarten teacher Jay Keddy, 53, was struck and killed while riding his bike up the Claremont Access Dec. 2, spurring community outrage and calls for the fasttracked addition of protected bike lanes on the Mountain-climbing road.

Cycling project manager Daryl Bender told councillors this month the change requires too much study and consultation to do this year — unless other cycling projects are delayed. Instead, council approved a plan to design a Claremont Access solution this year and build it in 2017.

McGreal argued the problem is the city devotes too few staff to cycling projects or “complete street” revamps. He noted the city was willing to hire a consultant to help design bidirectional bike lanes on Cannon Street that were completed for less than $700,000 — but only after a massive resident-led campaign.

The red light reserve is still stuffed with cash, but the city spends more of it each year, said traffic operations superintendent Dave Ferguson.

Red-light runners paid for only $67,900 i n road safety i mprovements in 2012 and about $282,000 in 2013, reserve figures show.

But the city dipped into the fund for $870,000 in 2014 — including cash for the Cannon Street bike lanes — and spent more than $1.35 million last year. Some of that cash hired a new “traffic safety technologist” to resurrect a long-dormant strategic road safety program, added Ferguson.

A report outlining new program goals is coming this spring, but it will likely include traffic safety education, school safety zone reviews and plans for dozens of new “pedestrian crossovers.” Ferguson expects total reserve spending to end up closer to $2 million this year — even without the courthouse.

Regardless, the days of millions of dollars sitting forgotten in the reserve appear over.

The general issues committee endorsed a motion from Coun. Matthew Green Tuesday directing the city to come up with a comprehensive plan to improve road safety — and pursue the international “vision zero” goal of eliminating traffic fatalities altogether.