Town council heaped scorn upon Morinville’s photo enforcement program last week after a new report suggested its agents spent more than twice as much time in “honey spots” than in school zones.
Town council received its first quarter report last week, which included photo enforcement stats for January to March 2016.
The report showed that photo enforcement agents issued about three times as many speeding tickets last quarter than they did during the same time last year: 1,815 compared to 579.
The report said the spike was due to a change in the vehicles used by agents and the location of some enforcement spots, wrote Bruce Kaminski of Independent Traffic Services.
“As a result, drivers that were previously only slowing down because they recognized our vehicles or parking spots are being caught speeding.”
About 41 per cent of these tickets (751) were issued at a single location: 100 St. between 105 Ave. and the walking trail on the north edge of town.
The report shows that enforcement agents spent about 278 hours at five locations (including Cardiff Rd. and 100 Ave. on the east end of town) that accounted for about 85 per cent of tickets issued – locations Coun. Rob Ladouceur denounced as “honey spots” where they could get lots of tickets. In contrast, they spent just 111 hours in school zones.
“This doesn’t say ‘safety’ to me. This says ‘income’ to me.”
Coun. Gordon Putnam warned that residents would turn against photo enforcement if these trends continued.
Coun. Stephen Dafoe asked, sarcastically, why the town wasn’t putting ads on top of the photo enforcement cars at this point so they could do double-duty.
“They’re spending an awful lot of time on Cardiff Road and by the pump-house,” he said, referring to two locations perceived by some as “honey spots.”
He later asked administration to report on the cost of ending the town’s photo enforcement contract early – strictly for informational purposes, he emphasized.
The report showed that about 65 per cent of tickets issued went to non-residents, consistent with previous trends. There was also little change in the number of vehicles speeding past the town’s speed-indicator signs compared to first quarter last year.
Town community and protective services director David Schaefer told council that the town was reviewing its photo enforcement locations and how it monitored school zones. They were also planning to put up more speed display signs at places such as Cardiff Rd.
In an interview, Coun. Nicole Boutestein said that the town had to change its photo enforcement policy to require enforcement vehicles to be clearly marked and visible while in operation, as that would make them better deterrents. If it didn’t, she predicted that residents would trigger another plebiscite on this issue once the town’s enforcement contract was up.
“There are way too many people in town that disagree with it.”
