Devon Photo Radar - Intro


Nobody likes to receive a photo radar ticket. Call it a speeding tax, a deterrent to excessive speed or a way to increase awareness of a high collision area – everybody curses that ticket found in the mail two to three weeks after their picture was taken for going five or more kilometers per hour over the posted limit.

This blog will review the issues with Devon's controversial photo radar program.

Devon, a small town on the south west corner of Edmonton, started it's photo radar program in mid-spring of 2004. The town council outsourced the enforcement to another firm who, as per the Alberta Solicitor General's guidelines, trained a “special constable” and began taking pictures of speeders' license plates after posting several photo radar signs and notices in the local paper.

This controversial program was implemented not only on the streets of Devon, but also on Highway 60, a well traveled bypass route around the city. Of course, many speeders – including myself, were ticketed in the first few months in the zone that drops from 100km/h to 70! Soon we all learned to slow down on the highway to avoid the punishing fines and the program was declared a 'success' by the town council.

But there were and still are issues:

• Devon had to cancel the program for the latter half of 2004 as there was a controversy regarding the training of the radar operator.


• The public has began to question the program also after recent disclosure revealed that Devon collected several hundred thousand dollars per month while the program was in operation.


• Recent council meetings show that there are no plans for changes to the highway through the townsite.


• Alberta's Solicitor General, the overseer of Devon's photo radar, granted authorization for the restart of the program in the spring of 2005 – But there has been no concrete data from the Solicitor General as to the program's effectiveness or how well Devon followed the guidelines for photo radar enforcement.

So, is it just a "cash cow?" Should photo radar be allowed on Alberta's highways ? Will the money be used for safety or other improvements to the highway through Devon ?

More to come ...

- posted by Steve @ 8:00 PM