More red light enforcement, speed cameras proposed in Vancouver at dangerous intersections
Posted October 25, 2023 3:05 pm.
With the goal of “slowing down Vancouver’s fastest and deadliest streets,” a city councillor is proposing more speed and red light safety cameras at select intersections.
Christine Boyle’s motion is set to be heard on Nov. 1. It calls for cameras to be installed at intersections that saw “over 100 crashes resulting in an injury or fatality between 2018 and 2022,” as well as “at intersections with over 50 such crashes if they are near a school.”
“Speed is a major factor not just in how often vehicle collisions happen but also in how severe the impacts of those collisions are,” the OneCity councillor explained.
Boyle says in 2021, there were more than 7,300 instances where people were treated in hospital for sustained injuries in car crashes.
Eighteen deaths were recorded that year as a result of vehicle crashes, she adds.
“I think that’s unacceptable and we need to do everything that we can as a local government to make our streets safer for people, for kids and families trying to get to school, for seniors out for a walk or going to the store, for people commuting,” she said.
Boyle says cameras are only one piece of the solution, noting they are there to help enforce existing rules.
“When we have speeding laws, we should make sure that people follow them. They’re there for a reason, and the reason is that we want to make sure all road users are safe,” she told CityNews. “Speed enforcement cameras are an efficient, cost-effective, evidence-based solution, and they’re one important piece of the puzzle.”
Speed camera motion calls for partnership with province
In addition to cameras, Boyle explains the other important piece in road safety relates to how the city is designed.
She says “the city has a backlog of requests” from locals pushing for street safety investments across Vancouver. They include upgrades to sidewalks, flashing beacons, signalized pedestrian crossings, and more.
“The reality right now is that the city isn’t investing enough to tackle that list at the speed that we need to,” Boyle said.
Currently, there are 43 traffic cameras in Vancouver. According to OneCity, these cameras generate an average of $8.2 million in revenue.
Boyle’s motion proposes allocating any additional revenue generated from new cameras to road design improvements.
“Ideally, they come together at a point where we’re no longer seeing revenue from speed enforcement cameras because people aren’t speeding and everyone is safer on our streets,” she added.
In addition to more cameras in Vancouver, Boyle’s motion also pushes for the province to install such devices “outside of municipal jurisdiction.”
She says this would need to be a partnership with the B.C. government, pointing to other local governments are also pressing the province to sit down to roll these measures out.
