Red light cameras saving lives, city says
Boost in number of devices led to record 60,000 charges laid against drivers in 2017
The number of charges laid through the city’s red light camera program surged last year to more than 60,000, a figure that was nearly double those laid in 2016 and appears to be a record high.
The dramatic increase in charges, each of which comes with a $325 fine, is mostly the result of the city doubling the number of cameras deployed at intersections throughout the city last year. There are now about 150 of the devices strategically placed at locations that have experienced a higher number of collisions of the kind attributed to red light running.
Councillor Jaye Robinson said the program is a key part of the city’s Vision Zero road safety plan, which aims to eliminate traffic deaths.
“Red light cameras have actually been very successful at saving lives and reducing injuries attributed to red light running,” said Robinson, who as public works chair spearheaded the Vision Zero plan this term. She moved a motion at council in June to have staff look into further expanding the camera program. “We have a serious challenge in this city with pedestrians, cyclists and even motorists losing their lives. We have to roll out every tool we can to counter that.”
The city says collisions resulting in serious injuries have been reduced by 23 per cent and ones that result in death by 40 per cent at intersections where the devices have been installed.
Toronto began its red light camera program in 2000 with 10 cameras. The 60,484 charges laid last year were the most in the past decade, according to city data that goes back to 2007.
The previous high was 35,680 recorded in 2016.
The camera that resulted in the most charges last year was at the intersection of Richmond St. E. and Parliament St., with 3,994.
The camera at Danforth Ave. and Greenwood Ave. resulted in the second most charges, with 3,586, while the one at Lower Jarvis and the Esplanade was third with 2,708.
City spokesperson Susan Pape said 2017 was a “transition year” for the program, and several cameras were either shut down or didn’t start operating until midway through the year, so the number of charges at each intersection doesn’t necessarily indicate how many drivers ran red lights there.
The city says the cameras are set up to only catch drivers who enter an intersection after the light turns red. Drivers already in the intersection when the light changes — those waiting to turn, for instance — aren’t penalized. An officer reviews the images captured by the cameras before mailing a ticket.
Besides catching drivers who run reds, the cameras also net the city a lot of cash. The program cost about $4 million last year and generated $10.37 million in fines for the city. An additional $2.2 million in victim surcharges went to the province.
Amanda O’Rourke, executive director of 8 80 Cities, a nonprofit organization that advocates for safer public spaces, said the city should deploy red light cameras “as widely as we can.”
“If they’re effective and we know that we have a road safety crisis, let’s use them as much as we can,” she said.
So far this year at least 24 pe- destrians have been killed in Toronto, according to numbers compiled by the Star from police and media reports. Eleven car drivers or occupants and four cyclists have also died.
The city is also planning to introduce photo radar to automatically enforce speed limits in designated school and community safety zones. City staff will first launch a pilot project to test the technology, during which data will be collected but no tickets issued. A permanent photo radar program is being planned for the end of 2019.
However, in order for the city to use photo radar to ticket speeders, the Ontario Conservative government must proclaim amendments to the Highway Traffic Act that were passed by the previous Liberal government.
Although road safety advocates have expressed concern the new government won’t act on the issue, Justine Lewkowicz, a spokesperson for Transportation Minister John Yakabuski, said after Toronto runs its pilot “regulations would be prepared by (the ministry) to allow them to implement their program by late 2019.”
Liz Sutherland, director of advocacy for Cycle Toronto, said the change in regulations can’t come soon enough. Her group joined others earlier this year to publish a report that recommended greater use of automated enforcement to make Toronto’s streets safer.
“I don’t see why any provincial government wouldn’t support enabling a technology that would allow us to make areas around our schools and residential areas safer,” she said. The Ontario government briefly employed photo radar to catch speeders on highways in the 1990s, but the program was scrapped by Mike Harris’s Conservative government in 1995. Lewkowicz described automated highway enforcement as “nothing but a cash grab” and said the province has no plans to bring it back. Top five intersections for red light camera charges in 2017 1. Richmond St. and Parliament St.: 3,994 2. Danforth Ave. and Greenwood Ave.: 3,586 3. Lower Jarvis St. and the Esplanade: 2,708 4. Bathurst St. and Davenport Rd.: 2,430 5. Eglinton Ave. and Danforth Rd.: 2,222