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Fresco

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So I'd like to get some opinions on this topic with the upcoming mayoral elections in 2022 in mind.

Please answer the following, do you approve of these speed cameras??
  1. Yes I approve, and dont want them removed or have their locations reduced.
  2. I approve, but I want the set fine raised from its current 10 km/h over to 15 km/h over the speed limit.
  3. I hate them and want them all gone!
FYI these speed cameras were Doug Ford's idea, but he had to get approval from John Tory to install them throughout Toronto (which he got).

They are mainly located in school zones and other high pedestrian traffic areas.
Tory's argument is they are needed to save lives, and its not a money grab.
To which I respond if its really about safety why not construct speed bumps in every school zone??
Speed bump costs $2,000 per bump, a single photo speed camera costs around $60,000 last time I checked (plus operating and maintenance cost)
 
Photo cameras were permitted by the Liberal government in 2018 at the request of several municipalities, which then implemented them. Ford didn't approve them as much as he did not revoke their approval, and it's entirely up to municipalities to install. Many parts of Ontario have chosen not to implement speed cameras, while some have implemented only a handful.

Toronto and York Region have generally taken the most proactive response to speed cameras, installing quite a lot of them.
 
Photo cameras were permitted by the Liberal government in 2018 at the request of several municipalities, which then implemented them. Ford didn't approve them as much as he did not revoke their approval, and it's entirely up to municipalities to install
Thanks for clarifying. But still, Doug Ford could have revoked their approval which he didnt do, and John Tory is a slimy little sh*t that needs to be voted out next election
 
So I'd like to get some opinions on this topic with the upcoming mayoral elections in 2022 in mind.

Please answer the following, do you approve of these speed cameras??
  1. Yes I approve, and dont want them removed or have their locations reduced.
  2. I approve, but I want the set fine raised from its current 10 km/h over to 15 km/h over the speed limit.
  3. I hate them and want them all gone!
FYI these speed cameras were Doug Ford's idea, but he had to get approval from John Tory to install them throughout Toronto (which he got).

They are mainly located in school zones and other high pedestrian traffic areas.
Tory's argument is they are needed to save lives, and its not a money grab.
To which I respond if its really about safety why not construct speed bumps in every school zone??
Speed bump costs $2,000 per bump, a single photo speed camera costs around $60,000 last time I checked (plus operating and maintenance cost)
Speed bumps are not the be all and end all of traffic calming. I think we should be bringing road design speed in line with speed limits rather than gotcha enforcement of 30 kph in streets clearly designed for 50 or 60kph speed limits. That's probably more about narrowing the roadway than adding speed bumps--people tend to just race from bump to bump anyway.
 
Thanks for clarifying. But still, Doug Ford could have revoked their approval which he didnt do, and John Tory is a slimy little sh*t that needs to be voted out next election
Is that a general statement or you just really, really don't like traffic enforcement cameras?

Speed bumps have their own issues.
 
Is that a general statement or you just really, really don't like traffic enforcement cameras?

Speed bumps have their own issues.
I completely agree that the BEST answer to (inappropriate) speed is better street design, and that speed bumps have many drawbacks. However, the full redesign of streets is not a simple matter, is best done as part of a major reconstruction and is expensive. Traffic cameras are a fairly cheap (and certainly cost-effective) interim step. My beef with them is the (Provincially-imposed) warning signs ("Speed Camera Ahead"). It is against the law to speed so I am not sure why it is necessary to increase 'sign pollution' by issuing these warnings.
 
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I completely agree that the BEST answer to (inappropriate) speed is better street design, and that speed bumps have many drawbacks. However, the full redesign of streets is not a simple matter, is best done as part of a major reconstruction and is expensive. Traffic cameras are a fairly cheap (and certainly cost-effective) interim step. My beef with them is the (Provincially-imposed) warning signs ("Speed Camera Ahead"). It is against the law to speed so I am not sure why it is necessary to increase 'sign pollution' by issuing these warnings.
Dunno. To dispel the 'traffic safety vs. revenue generator' argument? There are other 'advance' signs out there (stop sign, speed limit change, etc.).
 
Dunno. To dispel the 'traffic safety vs. revenue generator' argument? There are other 'advance' signs out there (stop sign, speed limit change, etc.).
OK, but STOP signs are the sign that one must stop and speed limit change signs indicate a change. The camera warning ones just seem unnecessary - though I concede that they may be meant to emphasize the traffic safety issue over the revenue generation!
 
Speed bumps have their own issues
Such as??

Can we agree on the following:

1. They are cheap (much cheaper than cameras).
2. They require little maintenance.
3. They force drivers to slow down or risk destroying the car's suspension

What are the drawbacks??
 
Such as??

Can we agree on the following:

1. They are cheap (much cheaper than cameras).
2. They require little maintenance.
3. They force drivers to slow down or risk destroying the car's suspension

What are the drawbacks??
People race between them, and focus on the speedbumps rather than potential pedestrians/cyclists.

It's also not practical to put speed bumps every fifty meters on every residential street.
 
People race between them, and focus on the speedbumps rather than potential pedestrians/cyclists.

It's also not practical to put speed bumps every fifty meters on every residential street
People are gonna race through speed camera zones too.
If you put the speed bumps close reasonably close together they should work fine.
If they dont work then why do so many streets have them??

And I'm not advocating putting speed bumps on every residential street, just school zones and streets which have heavy pedestrian traffic
 
Such as??

Can we agree on the following:

1. They are cheap (much cheaper than cameras).
2. They require little maintenance.
3. They force drivers to slow down or risk destroying the car's suspension

What are the drawbacks??
Recognizing that there seems to be a somewhat grey industry standard differentiating between 'speed humps' and 'speed bumps':

- Interfere with snow removal/winter road maintenance, or must be seasonally removed if the modular 'bolt down type.
- Slower emergency vehicle response
- Heavy vehicles, including school buses, must take them very slowly.
- Reduced acceptance by neighbourhood, generally because of the above 'emergency response' issue, as well as increased noise due to changing speeds and some vehicles traversing bumps.
 
People are gonna race through speed camera zones too.
If you put the speed bumps close reasonably close together they should work fine.
If they dont work then why do so many streets have them??

And I'm not advocating putting speed bumps on every residential street, just school zones and streets which have heavy pedestrian traffic
If the goal is to align road design speed with posted speed limits, we can't just put them at schools. At schools I would suggest raised crossings with centre refuges.
 
Recognizing that there seems to be a somewhat grey industry standard differentiating between 'speed humps' and 'speed bumps':

- Interfere with snow removal/winter road maintenance, or must be seasonally removed if the modular 'bolt down type.
- Slower emergency vehicle response
- Heavy vehicles, including school buses, must take them very slowly.
- Reduced acceptance by neighbourhood, generally because of the above 'emergency response' issue, as well as increased noise due to changing speeds and some vehicles traversing bumps.
- snow removal truck can just skip the speed bumps. Thats would they probably do now on streets that have the bumps.
- slower emergency vehicle response, but we're talking literally seconds. And yes I know seconds can cost lives, but I think thats offset by far fewer pedestrian deaths.
- heavy vehicles going a lot slower is a good thing.
- who cares what the neighbourhood thinks.
 

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