Devon Transfers Photo Radar to RCMP
The Devon Dispatch Paper is reporting today that the Photo Radar Program is being transferred to the local RCMP detachment.

RCMP will now make the determination on the location - where the photo enforcement is going to setup on a week to week basis. Policy changes include a decision on enforcing school and playground zone speed limits. Playground zones usually have a speed limit of 30km/h from 8:30am to dusk, but photo radar will only enforce that limit during school hours. I suspect that this policy change means these areas will receive a new found focus. This is an item that myself and others were most critical about as the highway seemed to receive the most attention and of course was the largest money maker.

The other major modification was the limit for offenders to receive only one ticket per calendar week for the first ticket that they're caught. The article claims that Devon is "the only jurisdiction doing this."

One last major note is that other municipalities are using Devon's 'success' to initiate their own program. Spruce Grove (a city west of Edmonton, Alberta) recently approved a tender to allow a subsidiary of the private Devon operator to provide photo radar services there.

Public opinion and input (IMHO) has proven valuable in making Devon and the Alberta Solicitor General realize they need to track and modify the program in Devon. I still don't personally approve of photo radar on a busy highway - there should be a visible RCMP officer pulling people over.

However, these photo radar programs will continue to be implemented in Alberta and only through our diligence can we ensure that these programs don't become cash cows on our highways ! Contact the Alberta Solicitor General, the RCMP, the local municipalities and your local paper's editor with your articulated concerns.
- posted by Steve @ 8:51 PM 6 comments