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Toronto planning to allow photo
radar outside all elementary schools
By BEN SPURR Transportation Reporter
Tues., June 5, 2o18
The city is pushing ahead with plans to implement photo radar systems to catch and fine
drivers who speed near schools.
A report going to the public works committee next week recommends council designate
as "community safety zones" the areas around entrances to all elementary schools int e
city, a bylaw change that would double the fines for speeding and open the door for the
city to implement automatic enforcement measures like photo radar in the designated
areas.
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6/6/2018
Toronto planning to allow photo radar outside all elementary schools I The Star
So far this year 17 pedestrians have died in Toronto, including two
schoolchildren. (CARLOS OSORIO / TORONTO STAR)
Councillor Jaye Robinson, who chairs the public works committee, called the mov
toward automatic enforcement near schools "a huge step forward" a vital part of t
city's and is in charge of the city's $go - million road safety plan. I-
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Nearly two years since Toronto announced Vision Zero, the city is on pace f®r its
deadliest year for pedestrians and cyclists
Photo radar coming t® Toronto school zones this summer
Editorials I Toronto's 'Vision Zero' plan to reduce traffic deaths has had zero impact s®
far
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There is a catch, however. The Safer School Zones Act adopted by the provincial
government last year allows cities to use measures like photo radar within designated
areas. But the province has yet to declare the applicable sections of the act in effect.
"Regulations are required and are being developed in consultation with Ontario
municipalities," said city spokesperson Cheryl San Juan. She gave no time frame f]
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6/6/2018 Toronto planning to allow photo radar outside all elementary schools I The Star
when the sections oft e act could be enacted.
But Councillor Robinson said she's "very confident" the city will be able to conduct a
pilot of automatic enforcement later this year, with full implementation beginning in
2019.
Some critics of photo radar describe it as police overreach or a cash grab by the city, but
Robinson dismissed those arguments.
10
-MMEM11,
The recent deaths of two young children has refocused attention on the risks caused by
the high volume of traffic that swells near schools each day as parents drop off or pick up
their kids.
On Feb. 27, ii -year-old Duncan Xu was killed when he was struck by a driver while
walking home from Kennedy Public School in Scarborough. It's not clear whether speed
was a. f.?.ctor in the collision.
One month earlier, 5 -year-old Camila Torcato died after an SUV whose driver had left
the vehicle rolled and pinned her against another car as she left St. Raphael Catholic
School in North York with her father.
So far this year, 17 pedestrians have died in Toronto, according to statistics compiled by
the tar® The city's road safety plan, dubbed "Vision Zero," has set a target of eliminating
traffic deaths and serious injuries.
Katie Piccininni said she would welcome photo radar near St. Clement Catholic School,
where her 9 -year-old son attends.
The Etobicoke school fronts onto Bloor St. W., a busy four -lane thoroughfare, where
Piceininni said drivers constantly exceed the speed limit.
Piccininni believes drivers would obey the rules if they knew photo radar would
automatically fine them for speeding.
"People need to slow down. If it means that they're going to have big tickets, and pay
through the nose for safeLL infractions, and malbe learn a lesson that wal, that would be
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6/6/2018 Toronto planning to allow photo radar outside all elementary schools I The Star
a much better way than a child losing their life," she said.
According to San Juan, if the report is approved by council later this month and the
province enables photo radar, the city will "undertake a data driven approach" to
determine where and when to install automatic speed enforcement.
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According to a 2016 city report, a University of Alberta study determined that the
introduction of photo radar in Edmonton resulted in a 32.1 per cent reduction in
collisions causing death or serious injury.
In addition to the community safety zones designation, the report says the city is also
preparing to hire engineering consultants to streets around schools for physical safety
improvements that could include flashing beacons, "Watch Your Speed" signs, zebra
markings, crosswalks, in -road warning signs, speed humps, and turn prohibitions.
W-1
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