Photo by Miranda Chant, BlackburnNews.comPhoto by Miranda Chant, BlackburnNews.com
London

Red-Light Camera Operational, Tickets To Come

The first of London's new red-light cameras has started snapping pictures, but tickets aren't being mailed out to red-light runners yet.

The camera installed at Springbank Dr. and Wonderland Rd. came online Monday morning but remains in the testing phase.

"No infractions are being generated at the moment but it is up and running," said Shane McGuire, manager of roadway lightning and traffic with the city. "The general public won't notice a change but once the testing is done and we are all happy with the images, then infraction notices will start being issued. It will probably be in a week's time before infractions are actually being sent out."

Red-light cameras at seven other of London's most collision prone intersections will be operational by the end of the month. The last two will be installed when road construction winds down in the fall.

Council approved the installation of the cameras at ten intersections in January 2016. The cameras come with a cost of $3.8-million but are expected to generate $4.5-million in revenue over five years. Signs warning of the red-light cameras started appearing at the start of April. The cameras themselves, which are perched on a pole near the intersection, followed.

"The system is looking for people that enter the intersection on a red. So if a vehicle is approaching an intersection and crosses that stop bar when the red signal is on, a picture is taken," said McGuire. "The picture shows the rear of the vehicle, where it is before the stop bar, and that the traffic signal head is red. That's in the first image. The second image is basically the same. The traffic signal head is red and the vehicle is now in the intersection. It clearly shows between those two images that the vehicle entered on a red and was in the intersection on a red."

The images are analyzed by a provincial offences officer at a red-light processing facility run by the city of Toronto. If it is confirmed there was a violation then a $325 ticket is mailed to the owner of the vehicle in question.

Since the decision to install the cameras, the city has seen a wave of questions from the public. Chief among the questions is whether a motorist in the intersection waiting to turn left when the light goes red will be ticketed.

"They've pulled into the intersection on a green signal and are waiting to turn. But because of traffic they can't turn until the light turns amber or perhaps when it's at the all red stage. People are wondering if they get a ticket in that case," said McGuire. "The red light camera system wouldn't be triggered because they entered the intersection on a green."

The ten intersections being equipped with cameras were selected based on a number of factors, according to McGuire.

"There's a bit of collision history involving the number of right-angle crashes, field investigation to confirm that red light running was occurring at those intersections, and then we looked at the city as a whole," said McGuire. "We ensured that we have a good spread across the city of where those cameras are located."

Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Peel, Waterloo, and Halton are among other municipalities using red light camera enforcement.

Red-light cameras will be operations at the following intersections by the end of May:

  • Commissioners Rd at Wellington Rd.
  • Dundas St. at Clarke Rd.
  • Exeter Rd. at Wharncliffe Rd.
  • Huron St. at Highbury Ave.
  • Oxford St. at Wonderland Rd.
  • Queens Ave. at Adelaide St.
  • Springbank Dr. at Wonderland Rd.
  • Windermere Rd. at Richmond St.
Red-light cameras will be installed at the following intersections this fall:
  • Oxford St. at Adelaide St.
  • Queens Ave. at Talbot St.

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