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The city must consult with residents if it wants to make a compelling case for using photo radar on Ottawa roads, say several local Liberal MPPs, whose government could ultimately decide whether to give municipalities such a power.
As council gears up this week to debate Coun. Riley Brockington’s motion — which seeks only to have Mayor Jim Watson write Premier Kathleen Wynne to formally ask for the option of using photo radar on local streets — provincial politicians are taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach to the issue.
“It’s important to see what the community thinks about it,” said Yasir Naqvi, minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services and MPP for Ottawa Centre.
Photo radar — which takes pictures of a speeding car’s licence plate and later mails the vehicle owner a ticket — has been controversial in the past, but, Naqvi says, public opinion may have evolved since its use in Ontario was halted more than two decades ago. “I’m not suggesting we shy away from discussing it,” Naqvi said, noting the effectiveness of red-light cameras.
“The key for any government, municipal or provincial, is safer communities,” he said.
Ottawa South MPP John Fraser said he’d be “open to listening” if city politicians, following public consultation, came forward with a coherent plan for tackling speeding and other road safety issues that includes the use of photo radar, among other tools.
Fraser also noted the push for photo radar today is coming from people concerned about safety on residential streets, while 20 years ago it was a government initiative focused on provincial highways and seen by many as a new way to collect revenue.
“As legislators and councillors, you have to listen when people are saying, ‘I’m concerned about my safety,'” Fraser said.
But Michael Harris, the provincial Progressive Conservative’s transport critic, seems unconvinced by any suggestion that photo radar could possibly increase public safety.
“Photo radar is more about the revenue stream than improving safety on our roads,” he said.
What’s more, photo radar only focuses on speeding, not other menaces on the road today, such as distracted, drunk or aggressive driving. “Photo radar does nothing to curb those,” Harris said.
The PCs under former premier Mike Harris scrapped photo radar after sweeping to power in 1995 and they’ve remained opposed to it ever since. But Patrick Brown, according to Harris, has said his party’s caucus will consider every idea “on its merit” and not dismiss anything without seeing the specifics.
Brockington says he raised the issue with Brown several weeks ago when the PC leader was in Ottawa for an annual general meeting.
“He was supportive of photo radar in school zones and hospital zones,” Brockington said.
A private member’s bill sponsored by an NDP MPP seeks to allow the use of “safety cameras” in construction and other “community safety” zones designated by a municipality.
That the so-called Safer Roads and Safer Communities Act, which is not up for debate anytime soon, seeks to strike out all references to “photo-radar system” and replace them with the words “safety cameras” speaks to just how jumpy some politicians get whenever the issue is broached.
Ontario’s NDP government under premier Bob Rae brought photo radar to provincial, 400-series highways in 1994, but it was killed less than a year later when the PCs won a landslide election.
Almost a decade later, with the Liberals in power, Premier Dalton McGuinty said he was considering photo radar as a means of cutting back the provincial deficit. “I’ve long been a supporter of photo radar…. (and) we’re going to talk about that,” McGuinty said at the time. “It’s a revenue generator, absolutely.”
The Liberals eventually backed away from the idea and later turned down a 2006 request from Ottawa city council, which was seeking permission to install photo radar on its streets (former councillor Peter Hume was behind that motion).
Nearly another decade had passed when politicians in York Region made a similar request last year, which the Liberals also shot down.
But last month, the premier — perhaps caught off-guard momentarily during a joint scrum following a meeting with Toronto Mayor John Tory — hinted at an openness to the idea.
Though Wynne didn’t actually use the words “photo radar,” she said: “We’re open to looking at all of those options, but you know, it really needs to be a discussion that starts with the municipalities who are on the front line, who are working with their police services and then coming to us and saying, ’This is the kind of thing that we’d like to see.”’
Ottawa city council will discuss Brockington’s motion on Wednesday.
mpearson@postmedia.com
twitter.com/mpearson78
查看原文...
As council gears up this week to debate Coun. Riley Brockington’s motion — which seeks only to have Mayor Jim Watson write Premier Kathleen Wynne to formally ask for the option of using photo radar on local streets — provincial politicians are taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach to the issue.
“It’s important to see what the community thinks about it,” said Yasir Naqvi, minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services and MPP for Ottawa Centre.
Photo radar — which takes pictures of a speeding car’s licence plate and later mails the vehicle owner a ticket — has been controversial in the past, but, Naqvi says, public opinion may have evolved since its use in Ontario was halted more than two decades ago. “I’m not suggesting we shy away from discussing it,” Naqvi said, noting the effectiveness of red-light cameras.
“The key for any government, municipal or provincial, is safer communities,” he said.
Ottawa South MPP John Fraser said he’d be “open to listening” if city politicians, following public consultation, came forward with a coherent plan for tackling speeding and other road safety issues that includes the use of photo radar, among other tools.
Fraser also noted the push for photo radar today is coming from people concerned about safety on residential streets, while 20 years ago it was a government initiative focused on provincial highways and seen by many as a new way to collect revenue.
“As legislators and councillors, you have to listen when people are saying, ‘I’m concerned about my safety,'” Fraser said.
But Michael Harris, the provincial Progressive Conservative’s transport critic, seems unconvinced by any suggestion that photo radar could possibly increase public safety.
“Photo radar is more about the revenue stream than improving safety on our roads,” he said.
What’s more, photo radar only focuses on speeding, not other menaces on the road today, such as distracted, drunk or aggressive driving. “Photo radar does nothing to curb those,” Harris said.
The PCs under former premier Mike Harris scrapped photo radar after sweeping to power in 1995 and they’ve remained opposed to it ever since. But Patrick Brown, according to Harris, has said his party’s caucus will consider every idea “on its merit” and not dismiss anything without seeing the specifics.
Brockington says he raised the issue with Brown several weeks ago when the PC leader was in Ottawa for an annual general meeting.
“He was supportive of photo radar in school zones and hospital zones,” Brockington said.
A private member’s bill sponsored by an NDP MPP seeks to allow the use of “safety cameras” in construction and other “community safety” zones designated by a municipality.
That the so-called Safer Roads and Safer Communities Act, which is not up for debate anytime soon, seeks to strike out all references to “photo-radar system” and replace them with the words “safety cameras” speaks to just how jumpy some politicians get whenever the issue is broached.
Ontario’s NDP government under premier Bob Rae brought photo radar to provincial, 400-series highways in 1994, but it was killed less than a year later when the PCs won a landslide election.
Almost a decade later, with the Liberals in power, Premier Dalton McGuinty said he was considering photo radar as a means of cutting back the provincial deficit. “I’ve long been a supporter of photo radar…. (and) we’re going to talk about that,” McGuinty said at the time. “It’s a revenue generator, absolutely.”
The Liberals eventually backed away from the idea and later turned down a 2006 request from Ottawa city council, which was seeking permission to install photo radar on its streets (former councillor Peter Hume was behind that motion).
Nearly another decade had passed when politicians in York Region made a similar request last year, which the Liberals also shot down.
But last month, the premier — perhaps caught off-guard momentarily during a joint scrum following a meeting with Toronto Mayor John Tory — hinted at an openness to the idea.
Though Wynne didn’t actually use the words “photo radar,” she said: “We’re open to looking at all of those options, but you know, it really needs to be a discussion that starts with the municipalities who are on the front line, who are working with their police services and then coming to us and saying, ’This is the kind of thing that we’d like to see.”’
Ottawa city council will discuss Brockington’s motion on Wednesday.
mpearson@postmedia.com
twitter.com/mpearson78
查看原文...
