For quite some time now, they had grown to become a part of the beautiful country side landscape running down Highway 1A. Those shiny pickup trucks, sometimes made to appear that they were broke down, just waiting for unsuspecting speeders.
For area locals, these vehicles became quite obvious, which was both good and bad. Good in that residents recognized them enough to know to slow down, would also know ahead of time where they were located and thanks to social media, people doing their ‘part for the community’ by tipping off where these vehicles were. The downside was that, in those areas of the city where photo radar vehicles were not present, sometimes residents took this opportunity to drive as if they were on an Indy 500 track.
Photo radar did seem to be working well in keeping Chestermere residents, for the most part, respectful of posted speed limits. An interesting fact is that in the reporting done by the third party that was contracted to handle the photo radar showed that in most months, 70% or more of the speeding tickets issued were given to drivers that did not reside in Chestermere.
However, since the New Year, something has been missing. No pickup’s popping on along the 1A or other roads in Chestermere. So, where’d they go?
“The photo radar program has been working well since its inception and has dramatically reducing speeding within our borders. Most tickets issued in the last few years have been to non-residents who are not respecting our speed limits and therefore possibly putting people at risk. The program was ended because we believe we now have the resources internally, through the RCMP and CPO office, to address speeding concerns in Chestermere. Instead of sharing the revenue coming from tickets we will now be able to retain all of that ourselves. However, this means we will also take on the work required to attend court, process the tickets etc. that used to be done by our contractor. We’ll evaluate the benefits of moving this in-house during budget discussions in the fall and if the most cost effective way to keep Chestermere streets safe from speeders is through an external contract, we’ll look at that option again”, said Mayor Patricia Matthews.
During the time that photo radar was existent in Chestermere, the only role that the RCMP played was to consult with the photo radar folks on tolerances and what locations in Chestermere may be needing to have a photo radar vehicle present. Aside from those recommendations that Chestermere RCMP would provide, the photo radar contractor was solely responsible for providing vehicles, cameras, the people that would monitor from the vehicles and would also handle all ticketing and court dates.
“We are working well with the resources that we have and will continue our traffic enforcement. It was not a police decision to not renew the contract for photo radar. We will keep doing what we do and will do our best,” commented Glenn Henry, S/Sgt with Chestermere RCMP Detachment.
While some are likely relieved that the photo trucks are gone, let’s all be respectful of the posted speed limits and keep our streets safe.
