Barrie City Council, by direct motion, has given the green light to bring in red-light cameras.
The move by council on Wednesday night would see speed cameras phased out by the end of the year, though Premier Doug Ford announced on Thursday his government was going to introduce legislation next month to ban the use of speed cameras across the province.
Ford has been bemoaning the cameras in recent weeks as a "cash grab," suggesting they don't work to slow traffic and are only used by some municipalities to generate revenue.
At City Hall last night, Deputy Mayor Robert Thomson didn't refute what the premier has been suggesting.
"Some municipalities have taken the opportunity to fill the coffers of taxpayers," he noted.
Mayor Alex Nuttall made it clear that Barrie was not among the bad apples.
"I think that we did conduct ourselves in a responsible manner when it came to how we unveiled and then executed the speed cameras in the City of Barrie," he said.
Barrie's director of development services, Michelle Banfield, said that about 10 years ago council asked staff to look into red light cameras and presented data that showed infractions to be around three per day at select intersections.
Recent traffic data management is coming back now, according to Banfield, which shows infractions are on the increase.
"Mapleview Drive West going southbound in the southbound ramp, we're looking at a 72-hour period of 135 (red-light infractions). That ended up being like five per hour, versus what we used to see, three per day. The northbound ramp is about four per hour, and Bayfield and Livingstone is about seven per hour. The preliminary data that we have coming in is showing much higher rates."
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Nuttall said the city needs to focus on red-light cameras.
"That's where we need to turn our heads, ASAP, so that we can get the (provincial) funding to be able to institute them."
Red-light cameras have been on the city's radar.
Council approved a motion last March that asked staff to investigate the feasiblity of installing red-light cameras in Barrie https://barrie360.com/barrie-red-light-cameras/,i dentify the characteristics of an intersection that best supports red-light cameras, and then identify the top locations on city streets.
The direction motion approved by council states automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras would stop on December 31, 2025, unless otherwise directed by the province, and that staff be authorized to negotiate agreements to implement a red-light camera program in the city.
Funding for the red-light camera program would come from the ASE reserve.
The direct motion also says any agreement to implement a red-light camera program in Barrie would be based on evaluation of best value to the city.
Coun. Jim Harris mused about red-light cameras in areas where there are schools.
"Bayview and Little. Wouldn't that be a good place for a red-light camera, which would actually probably do more good than the ASE camera."
The location has two schools nearby, Allandale Heights Public School and Innisdale Secondary School.
"It's a very busy area," Harris added.
Barrie City Council, at a meeting on June 20, 2022, approved a motion to implement an ASE program. In 2017, Ontario authorized the use of ASE in municipalities to address ongoing issues with speeding in school zones and community safety zones.
ASE cameras went live in Barrie in December 2023 at Big Bay Point Road and at Anne Street North.
Barrie has 27 community safety zones. According to the city's website, community safety zones were identified for the ASE program based on data collected that shows areas where drivers regularly go over the posted speed limit.
City staff said in a report to council in May that the initial data analysis indicates that ASE cameras are functioning as intended to reduce vehicle speeds through areas where vulnerable road users are present.
Revenue collected from the ASE program since its launch is $1,246,684, according to the city, and operating costs are $711,000, which means a surplus of $535,684.
The city website explains how the funds are used:
- The municipality uses the funds from the fine payments to offset the costs of the ASE program (cameras leases, signs, provincial offences officers, office, and miscellaneous expenses)
- The victim fine surcharge portion is submitted to the province like any other ticket offence. The municipality retains any net fine revenue, after expenses.
- If there is a surplus of revenue over expenses, these funds will be reinvested by the city back into the ASE program, other road safety, or traffic calming initiatives
Since July, ASE cameras in Barrie have been located:
- eastbound on Grove Street East near Maple Grove Public School
- northbound Livingstone Street near Monsignor Clair Catholic Elementary School
- eastbound Livingstone Street near West Bayfield Elementary School
- westbound Rose Street near Barrie North Collegiate
Those cameras, which were to remain in place until January 2026, will be gone by the end of the year.
