A new LIDAR, solar-powered speed camera has been installed on Simcoe Road.
Town staff were out Friday installing the new technology near Catania Avenue.
The camera was approved for purchase in June 2022, as a way to help reduce traffic safety issues and control speeding in the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury.
With issues of speeding on Simcoe Road, council previously tried other measures to address it but saw minimal improvement.
“We know from the data and the residents that Simcoe Road has a speeding problem,” said Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott in a previous story. “It is an older street that has become a main arterial route over the past decade. We’ve installed speed decals, additional signage and extended the community safety zone in the past to try to address the issue."
Speeding cameras aren't new to Bradford, South Simcoe Police took on a pilot program by utilizing traffic cameras as a warning tool in multiple locations.
"It's an additional tool to gather information," said South Simcoe Police Staff Sgt. Dave Phillips. "It's been very successful—the first three streets we did we saw anywhere between a 50 and 30 per cent reduction in speed. When you look at the return on investment with the cost, the amount of effort that goes into getting those types of reductions, it's pretty impressive. I'm not sure what it would take me to dedicate the amount of police resources to get a similar result. It's not the silver bullet, but it gives us another tool to help us change the conversation around speeding in neighbourhoods."
For now, the cameras will only send warning letters to speeders, but the town hopes it will start issuing tickets in the new year.
“For the rest of 2022, the camera will operate under the town’s existing system where speeders are issued a warning letter,” Scott explained. “In winter 2023, once the town’s Administrative Monetary Penalty system is up and running, we anticipate the camera will be able to join the province’s newly permitted Automated Speed Enforcement program; in other words, we expect the camera will be able to issue speeding tickets."
