Speed cameras might come to residential areas

[Regulator75]

I think this is a great idea, especially near schools and playgrounds.
There is never enough cops around to nail these morons who constantly speed through residential areas.

"Cash cow" or not, makes more sense to set them up where people actually walk and live. Versus a speed camera on Stoney Trail or some other major route.

http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/955...dential-areas/

Calgary’s top cops have told traffic authorities to explore putting speed cameras closer to where more people walk and cycle.

Pedestrian safety was a hot topic during a police commission meeting this week with three people being killed crossing Calgary streets in 2014. During that meeting, deputy police Chief Trevor Daroux revealed there’s a plan to shift the focus of automated policing efforts.

On Wednesday, police spokesperson Kevin Brookwell told Metro that high-level talk revolves around focusing on “non-traditional” areas where there are more pedestrians such as residential areas or bustling inner-city spots such as 17 Avenue SW.

[llwhiteoutll]

I'd like to see stats on how many people are actually exceeding 50kph in residential areas. And not just a bull#### estimate by community NIMBYs who have zero training or equipment.

A big part of this is also getting pedestrians to pull their heads out of their ass when they are near roads.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Regulator75

I think this is a great idea, especially near schools and playgrounds.
There is never enough cops around to nail these morons who constantly speed through residential areas.

"Cash cow" or not, makes more sense to set them up where people actually walk and live. Versus a speed camera on Stoney Trail or some other major route.

http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/955...dential-areas/

"Cash cow" is what they're already doing, putting them on divided, borderline freeways with multiple lanes. This is actually logical. Slow people down where it matters.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

I'd like to see stats on how many people are actually exceeding 50kph in residential areas. And not just a bull#### estimate by community NIMBYs who have zero training or equipment.

A big part of this is also getting pedestrians to pull their heads out of their ass when they are near roads.

I saw two different member of the CPS mentioned in the article, are these the "NIMBYs" you are mentioning?

[Senator Clay Davis]

I'm sure the fact they want to find more ways to generate fine revenue has nothing to do with this...

City police have put penny-pinching plans in motion after nabbing fewer motorists cruising over Calgary’s posted speed limits last year, Metro has learned.

All told, the service netted $39.3 million in traffic-fine revenue in 2013, about $3 million less than projections. Officials have said in the past that the massive June flood and better awareness of so-called “speed-on-green” intersection cameras were likely factors in fewer tickets being issued. In 2012, the service set a record with $44 million in traffic-fine funds.

http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/952...-to-cover-gap/

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

A big part of this is also getting pedestrians to pull their heads out of their ass when they are near roads.

If so, wouldn't having any pedestrian incident on camera help, so that the video can demonstrate that they had their head up their ass and it was not avoidable on the part of the driver?

[Regulator75]

Originally Posted by nik-

"Cash cow" is what they're already doing, putting them on divided, borderline freeways with multiple lanes. This is actually logical. Slow people down where it matters.

Exactly.

[Maccalus]

Most residential streets can handle speeding more effectively through proper road and community design. People go the speed they feel comfortable driving at, which may be different than the speed limit in that stretch. Cameras can help with enforcement in areas where roads need to be wider or speed limits need to be slower for various reasons. Residential boulevards, school and playground zones is where they could be effective, but on other residential streets they should not be necessary.

[Bmuzyka]

I personally hate the notion that speed cameras are for public safety. They have a delayed reaction, which does very little to actually keep people safer. If someone is driving ridiculously fast through a playground zone, stop them then and there and protect and kids out and about then, don't allow them to continue speeding until they learn their lesson when they get a ticket in the mail 2 weeks later.

It was the same thing when the city was doing major construction of the Calf Robe bridge a couple years ago. They were setting up photo radar at the very end of the construction zone, right before the sign telling motorists to resume speed. That did nothing to ensure the safety of construction workers. They weren't stopping the morons from going 140 through that zone, who could potentially kill someone or lose control of their vehicle due to the road conditions (loose gravel, debris from construction etc.)

I do agree that photo radar has a time and place, but school zones and construction zones should be uniformed officers stopping infraction now, and handing out demerits.

[Komskies]

They should install these more often:



Obviously they won't help generate revenue for the CPS, but I do think they are effective in getting people to slow down. When I was down in Phoenix at the start of the month I saw these things all over the place.

[TorqueDog]

^They have one of those in Victoria on the way to the hotel I stay at. The road has no hidden driveways and isn't a residential road. The sign starts flashing if you exceed 50 KM/H and says SLOW DOWN. Then if you go higher than that, is says SLOW DOWN - TOO FAST. And if you break 80 KM/H, it gives you a giant sad face. I mean, you're essentially giving people a reason to go faster - if you hit the sad face, you win!




As for the OP, yeah, this is a great idea. /s

Enough with the cameras; they don't work. You want people to slow down, put a manned speed trap.

[Regulator75]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

As for the OP, yeah, this is a great idea. /s

Enough with the cameras; they don't work. You want people to slow down, put a manned speed trap.

Will more manned traps = more taxes?

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Regulator75

Will more manned traps = more taxes?

Nope, it'll mean fewer speeders in the long run.

Oh wait, we don't care about safety, it's just about money. NM, as you were.

[GP_Matt]

Doubly more taxes I think.
More officers on duty and more courtroom time as people are more likely to fight a points ticket than a pure cash ticket.

[4X4]

They should install one of those information signs halfway down the block from the camera, and if the camera gets activated and issues a ticket, the sign lights up and says 'You just got a ticket'.

[Flabbibulin]

The drivers in the playground zone I drive through daily are a joke- basically on a hill and you frequently see people scream through at 60+. Have been taking this route daily for 5 years or so and have never once seen a speed trap.

I mentioned it in a thread a while back, but I was once going 30 through this zone and the guy behind me passed me via oncoming traffic lane

[btimbit]

Makes much more sense to have them in residential areas rather than faster roads. I approve.

Originally Posted by Komskies

They should install these more often:



Obviously they won't help generate revenue for the CPS, but I do think they are effective in getting people to slow down. When I was down in Phoenix at the start of the month I saw these things all over the place.

Unless you're like me and my friends where we play the game of who can get the fastest reading.

[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by Komskies

They should install these more often:



Obviously they won't help generate revenue for the CPS, but I do think they are effective in getting people to slow down. When I was down in Phoenix at the start of the month I saw these things all over the place.

I think that I read somewhere that the speed-signs were often times used (in the US) as fronts for surreptitiously obtaining license plate data.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by HockeyIlliterate

I think that I read somewhere that the speed-signs were often times used (in the US) as fronts for surreptitiously obtaining license plate data.

eh?


please explain why?

[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

eh?


please explain why?

Why what?

Why I read it? Because I found the comments interesting.

Why the speed-signs were used in such a manner? Drug-running and immigration concerns, purportedly.