Winnipeg police board chair calls for expansion of photo radar program
Legislation more than 2 decades old, limits technology and locations: St. Norbert-Seine River councillor
The chair of the Winnipeg Police Board wants to see photo radar traffic enforcement expand into more neighbourhoods — but doing so may require a change to provincial rules.
Under the province's legislation, police can only use mobile photo radar in school zones, construction zones and near playgrounds, while fixed photo radar cameras can only be placed at select intersections. It also restricts the types of technology that can be used.
St. Norbert-Seine River Coun. Markus Chambers, who chairs the police board, says it's time for the province to update its more than two-decade old legislation.
"Back in 2001, areas like Sage Creek and Waverley West … didn't exist," Chambers said in a Friday interview.
He wants changes to ensure that the residential streets in those areas are included in the photo radar program, "and then looking at other areas."
This is not the first time city officials have called on the province to update its legislation.
In 2022, then Winnipeg police chief Danny Smyth said there were approximately 50 locations the city had identified where photo enforcement could happen under the province's legislation, and new areas couldn't be added without changing the law.
He also said the legislation prescribes the specific type of technology used in the cameras, which are starting to break down.
The technology also relies on sensor coils placed under the roadway, making it difficult to install and maintain. Newer devices use above-ground cameras, but the law prevents the city from using them, Smyth said in 2022.
"There are much more sophisticated above-ground camera systems that would be able to do that, but we just don't have the ability to upgrade," he said.
Chambers agrees the technology needs an update.
"If you look at your cellphone from 2001 to current date, it's completely been changed," he said.
A review of the photo radar program was set to be conducted in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic derailed those plans.
The program has faced opposition from community groups who have accused police of using it as a cash grab.
But Chambers says drivers need to be paying attention when they enter a reduced-speed zone.
"It's not a cash grab. It's about the safety of our residents, our children in the school zones, our seniors, our cyclists, and making sure that the road can be shared equitably by everyone."
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham also says improving safety should be the program's focus.
"The city needs to be working with the province and [Manitoba Public Insurance] to get the data to see [which] intersections … are not safe and identify those places as primary candidates to try to improve safety," Gillingham said in a Friday interview with CBC Manitoba's Information Radio host Marcy Markusa.
A spokesperson for Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor says the province is ready to work with the city to determine the best way forward.
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With files from Marcy Markusa