Kitchener pumps the brakes on new regionally installed speed cameras

Kitchener City Council is pausing its enrollment in the Region of Waterloo’s automated speed enforcement camera (ASE) program.

A motion tabled at council this week called on the city to block the installation of new ASEs on roads owned by the City of Kitchener. The program is administered by the region who decides where the cameras will be installed.

The motion was supported by Ward 3 Councillor Jason Deneault and many others, including Ward 7’s Bil Ioannidis.

At the heart of the motion is control over the locations of the cameras.

Deneault and Ioannidis want to see decisions about the placement of ASEs based on data, not just focusing on school zones. Ioannidis told The Mike Farwell Show their beef isn’t with idea of ASEs.

“The motion is not to give up on the program, we are all committed to some form of enforcement, but just have a little bit more balance and more tailored to Kitchener needs.”

“The issue (traffic safety) is not in school zones, it’s not in community safety zones, it’s in the intersections of busy roads. I think we need to fix that problem first before we fix problems I don’t really believe are there at this point in time,” at council, Deneault said. “If we’re really concerned about pedestrian safety, and I know we are and I know the city is and I believe the Region is as well, we have a litany of issues that probably should take precedent before school zones become a potential cash grab for the Region.”

Ioannidis said he’s heard from constituents about a pair of ASEs in Ward 7 and how they found the system useful, but rather overly punitive. He pointed to one example of a neighbour getting a ticket in a school zone on Christmas Day.

Council ultimately did pass the motion and it is expected to be ratified in the next few weeks.