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Home My WebLink AboutCS 36-23 Report to Executive Committee Report Number: CS 36-23 Date: December 4, 2023 From: Laura Gibbs (Acting) Director, Community Services Subject: Highway Traffic Act Amendments - Community Safety and Well-Being Committee - File: A-1440-001 Recommendation: 1. That Report CS 36-23, regarding Highway Traffic Act Amendments, Community Safety and Well-Being be received; 2. That further to the recommendation of the Community Safety and Well-Being Committee, that Council be requested to send a letter to the Ontario Minister of Transportation and the Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing requesting an amendment to the Highway Traffic Act s.205.1, to allow municipalities to locate a temporary Automated Speed Enforcement system on any roadway under the jurisdiction of the municipality, as determined by the municipality, and not restricted to only community safety zone and school safety zones; and, 3. That the letter be copied to the local area Minister of Provincial Parliament, the Association of Municipalities in Ontario, and all Durham Region area municipalities. Executive Summary: The purpose of this report is to advise Council that the Community Safety and Well-Being Advisory Committee recommends supporting amendments to the Highway Traffic Act. On May 10, 2023, Council received Correspondence 22-23 from Danielle Manton, City Clerk, City of Cambridge, regarding Highway Traffic Act (HTA) Amendments. The Correspondence (Attachment 1) resolves that the City of Cambridge request that the Ontario Government amend s.205.1 of the HTA to permit municipalities to locate an Automated Speed Enforcement system temporarily on any roadway under the jurisdiction of municipalities and as determined by municipalities and not be restricted to only community safety zone and school safety zones. At the Council meeting on May 29, 2023, Council directed that Correspondence 22-23 be reviewed by the Community Safety and Well-Being Advisory Committee and report back to Council in Q4 of 2023. The Community Safety and Well-Being Committee reviewed Correspondence 22-23 on November 9, 2023 and, by unanimous vote, recommend that Council introduce and endorse a motion requesting that the Ontario Government amend s.205.1 of the HTA to permit municipalities to locate an Automated Speed Enforcement system temporarily on any roadway CS 36-23 December 4, 2023 Subject: Highway Traffic Act Amendments Page 2 under the jurisdiction of municipalities and as determined by municipalities and not be restricted to only community safety zone and school safety zones; and, that said motion be forwarded to the Ontario Minister of Transportation, the Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, local area Minister of Provincial Parliament, the Association of Municipalities in Ontario, and all Durham Region area municipalities. Financial Implications: There are no financial impacts that result from adopting the recommendations in this report. Discussion: Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) is a relatively new technology and is rapidly becoming a proven and effective way to enforce speed limits and provide safer roads for pedestrians, motorists, and cyclists. The ASE Program includes the deployment of a roadside speed measurement device and a camera in the road boulevard that can automatically detect the speed of a vehicle and take a photograph of the rear license plate of speeding vehicles. In Pickering, these cameras are located in designated Community Safety Zones near schools where children tend to walk, run and play, and speeding vehicles puts them at risk. Motorists photographed speeding in the Community Safety Zones are ticketed. Offences are first reviewed by a Provincial Officer to ensure accuracy, and if warranted, a ticket will be mailed to the registered plate owner of the vehicle within 30 days. Like speeding tickets issued by Police Officers, the fine amount is based on how much the driver is exceeding the posted speed limit. In Community Safety Zones, fines are doubled. Tickets are mailed to the registered plate owner of the vehicle with no demerit points. Pickering was the 16th Municipality to sign onto the Ontario ASE program. This initiative is in support of Durham Vision Zero, a long-term plan to ensure a safe transportation system that sees no lives lost or serious injuries on Pickering’s roadways. The Community Safety and Well-Being Advisory Committee members express support for the ASE program and expansion of this program to improve road safety in Pickering. Therefore, the Community Safety & Well-Being Advisory Committee recommend that Council introduce and endorse a motion requesting that the Ontario Government amend s.205.1 of the HTA to permit municipalities to locate an Automated Speed Enforcement system temporarily on any roadway under the jurisdiction of municipalities and as determined by municipalities and not be restricted to only community safety zone and school safety zones; and, that said motion be forwarded to the Ontario Minister of Transportation, the Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, local area Minister of Provincial Parliament, the Association of Municipalities in Ontario, and all Durham Region area municipalities. Attachment: 1. Correspondence 22-23 regarding Highway Traffic Act Amendments CS 36-23 December 4, 2023 Subject: Highway Traffic Act Amendments Page 3 Prepared By: Approved/Endorsed By: Elaine Knox Laura Gibbs Community Safety and Well-Being Advisor (Acting) Director, Community Services LG:ek Recommended for the consideration of Pickering City Council Marisa Carpino, M.A. Chief Administrative Officer Original Signed By Original Signed By Original Signed By The Corporation of the City of Cambridge Corporate Services Department Clerk’s Division The City of Cambridge 50 Dickson Street, P.O. Box 669 Cambridge ON N1R 5W8 Tel: (519) 740-4680 ext. 4585 mantond@cambridge.ca May 10, 2023 Re: Highway Traffic Act Amendments Dear Ms. Mulroney, At the Council Meeting of May 9, 2023, the Council of the Corporation of the City of Cambridge passed the following Motion: WHEREAS speeding on our roads is a major concern in our community, AND WHEREAS speeding can occur in all areas of our community, AND WHEREAS barriers and delays to enforcement pose a danger to our community, AND WHEREAS our municipality has limited resources to implement speed mitigation road design and re-design, AND WHEREAS our local police service has limited resources to undertake speed enforcement, AND WHEREAS s.205.1 of the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) provides that Automated Speed Enforcement systems (ASE) may only be placed in designated community safety zones and school safety zones, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the City of Cambridge request that the Ontario Government amend s.205.1 of the HTA to permit municipalities to locate an ASE system permanently or temporarily on any roadway under the jurisdiction of municipalities and as determined by municipalities and not be restricted to only community safety zones and school safety zones; AND THAT a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Ontario Minister of Transportation, the Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, local area MPPs, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and all Ontario Municipalities. Attachment #1 to Report CS 36-23 Should you have any questions related to the approved resolution, please contact me. Yours Truly, Danielle Manton City Clerk Cc: (via email) Steve Clark, Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Local Area MPPs Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) All Ontario Municipalities Original Signed By