Sudbury motion calls on province to compensate city for loss of speed camera revenue

A motion headed to Greater Sudbury council calls on the province to compensate the city for costs and lost revenue from the forced removal of speed cameras.

A motion headed to city council next week calls on Queen’s Park to pay Greater Sudbury for any lost revenue that would result from the province outlawing speed cameras.

The motion from Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc is a response to Premier Doug Ford’s plan to force municipalities to remove speed cameras, which Ford calls a tax grab.

Sudbury currently operates six speed cameras, which regularly change location and are concentrated in areas where speeding is an issue.

Officials say the cameras have been shown to be effective in slowing traffic, but the premier says there are other ways that are effective that don’t target drivers’ pocketbooks.

Municipalities that use the cameras had hoped Ford would at least allow them in school zones, but the premier rejected that idea.

Leduc’s motion will be heard at the Oct. 21 city council meeting. It says removing the cameras will cost the city money, both for the physical removal and in lost revenue.

Fine revenue used for traffic calming

Fines paid by speeders caught on the cameras have helped fund traffic calming measures in other areas of the city.

“Revenues generated from the (speed camera) program have been allocated to the city’s traffic calming initiatives, which will face significant funding reductions unless the newly proposed provincial fund adequately offsets the lost revenue,” Leduc’s motion said.

“The elimination of the … program will increase the burden on police services, raise enforcement costs and divert resources from other critical public safety responsibilities.”

He wants the city to send a letter to Ford and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria calling for a full reimbursement of costs and lost revenues, as well as funding to pay for added policing.

While Leduc’s motion is demanding money from the province, Mayor Paul Lefebvre has said he wants to work with the premier.

“We’re always going to be working with the province,” Lefebvre said earlier this month.

“I know there’s a lot of pushback from some municipalities, because these enforcement areas actually are working. We’re seeing a very drastic decrease (in speeding) … That being said, if the province wants to take it that direction, if they feel that there’s better ways for road safety, (we’ll) work together to achieve that.”