News release - City of Barrie
with files from Barrie 360
The City has installed signs in areas of the city where an automated speed enforcement (ASE) camera will be placed in a few months.
The coming soon signs were installed yesterday and will be posted for at least 90 days before the ASE is activated, providing drivers with advance notice. Once the speed camera goes live, the coming soon sign is replaced by a “Municipal Speed Camera in Use" sign. Cameras will be active only when this sign is posted.
“One of Council’s key priorities is creating a safer community by addressing speeding and aggressive driving,” said Mayor Alex Nuttall. “Along with community policing efforts, speed enforcement cameras are a useful tool to help us keep everyone safe. With speed a factor in approximately one-third of fatal collisions in Canada, cameras help to reduce speed limits and save lives.”
Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) is a system that uses speed cameras to enforce speed limits. Speed cameras can reduce the risk of collisions and help ensure that motorists don’t go over the speed limit in community safety zones.
A community safety zone is an area designated through a by-law passed by a municipal council to identify it as a road segment of higher risk or concern. Certain Highway Traffic Act fines (including speeding) are doubled in community safety zones and many community safety zones are located close to schools.
There are 27 community safety zones in total that have been identified in Barrie as problem areas where the cameras could be installed. This is based on data collected showing areas where drivers are regularly going over the posted limit.
In 2017, Ontario authorized the use of Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) in municipalities to address ongoing issues with speeding in school zones and community safety zones. At the June 20, 2022, Council meeting, Barrie City Council approved a motion to implement an Automated Speed Enforcement Program in school zones and community safety zones.
In July, Barrie 360 reported that the previous city council voted to move forward with speed enforcement cameras that would be rotated across the city's 10 wards, and $300,000 had been set aside for two cameras.
To learn more about the Automated Speed Enforcement Program, visit barrie.ca/traffic.
Banner image via the City of Barrie
