City gives photo radar vehicles a fresh look to improve visibility
Edmonton’s 28 photo radar enforcement vehicles are getting a brightening makeover to make them more visible to motorists.
A majority of the city’s fleet is being turned bright yellow along with a “Drive Safe” tag and safety flag to become more transparent in the hopes of reducing speed.
Jessica Lamarre, the city’s acting director of traffic safety, said these changes are a result of consistent feedback from residents asking for more transparency to the city’s automated enforcement program.
The vehicles will now be easier to see and will also be subject to new parking regulations to ensure visibility.
“We’ve heard concerns from Edmontonians around the visibility of automated enforcement vehicles, whether or not they can see them on the approach in our automated enforcement zones,” Lamarre said Monday morning during the vehicle reveal.
“So we’re making changes to the criteria for where these vehicles can be parked in order to make sure Edmontonians can clearly see them as they approach a location.”
Lamarre couldn’t speak to specific enforcement locations in the city where sometimes the vehicles are hidden from the view of the road, but said the goal is for motorists to have a clear view of the truck so they will not be blocked by natural landscape.
“The commitment would be to parking in transparent locations so that drivers can see them,” she said.
“This move is about listening to Edmontonians and increasing safety through visibility and awareness.”
Total expected costs for the flashy new designs amount to about $100,000, funded through the city’s traffic safety reserve fund where ticket fine revenues end up.
Up until the end of September, the city has collected $37.8 million from automated enforcement revenues to go toward traffic safety initiatives.
The announcement comes a week after the provincial government put a two-year freeze on municipalities expanding their photo radar program as it studies use of the technology as a safety measure and makes a decision on its future in Alberta.
Photo radar tickets have been on the decline in the city with a 17-per-cent reduction in 2018. Since the city adopted the vision zero program in 2016, there has been a 41-per-cent decrease in traffic-related fatalities and a 21 per cent reduction in serious injuries.
Safety is the main goal of the city’s traffic enforcement program and Lamarre said the hope is these vehicle changes will further bring those numbers down on the way to the vision zero goal of zero traffic fatalities.
“Automated enforcement is one tool in the toolbox. Safety being the main priority, it is one of the steps we can do to increase awareness and help drivers slow down,” she said.