EDMONTON — Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen says as of April 1 the province is ending photo radar ticketing on all numbered provincial highways.
The province also plans over the coming months to review "cash cows” – photo radar spots that appear to prioritize money-making over safety -- with the goal of shutting down 70 per cent of the current 2,200 sites.
Dreeshen says far too often photo radar penalizes drivers without improving road safety, adding the province doesn’t intend to offer extra cash to make municipalities whole from the lost photo radar revenue.
“The whole point of getting rid of these cash cow locations is to make sure that photo radar is used as a traffic safety tool and not as a revenue generator,” Dreeshen told a news conference Monday.
Photo radar will continue to be allowed in school zones, playground zones and construction sites, but beyond these areas, local governments will have to submit their case and show evidence of higher collision rates.
At intersections equipped with cameras, running a red light could still net a driver a ticket, but speeding on green will not - starting in the spring.
Kara Westerlund, president of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta, applauded the move.
“Our communities have called for change, and I’m proud to say that this government has listened,” she said at the government news conference.
Alberta Municipalities president Tyler Gandam said his organization supports local governments using automated traffic enforcement for safety reasons, since the data shows it reduces deaths, injuries and property damage.
"It's improving safety in the communities, no question," Gandam said in an interview, adding the government's decision is about political points because getting tickets is unpopular.
"If you don't like photo radar, just stop speeding," he said.
Gandam said forcing municipalities to go through another approval process represents more bureaucracy from a government that prides itself on cutting red tape.
He said photo radar revenue makes up a small portion of any municipality's budget. For him, the issue is about safety, including that of the police officers who will need to enforce traffic safety.
Dreeshen said the province has seen a "mixed bag" of data measuring photo radar's effect on collision numbers.
"There's lots of folks that will say photo radar is needed to keep these streets safe, but we've also seen municipalities, when they remove photo radar, that we've actually seen safer streets," he said.
"We're not banning speed limits," he said.
Opposition NDP critic Lorne Dach told reporters Dreeshen's move doesn't appear to be supported by evidence.
"The decision-making here seems to be basically based on the minister's decision about popularity rather than public safety data," said Dach.
NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the government is adding red tape, and that municipalities, including Calgary, use photo radar funding to pay for policing.
"If this government wants municipalities to increase property taxes for their largest budget item, they should just say so," he said.
The United Conservative Party government has been placing restrictions on photo radar sites in stages.
All photo radar sites were removed from ring roads in Calgary and Edmonton last December.
Dreeshen said that's shown good results, in part because drivers aren't taken off guard by having to suddenly slow down and disrupt traffic.
In 2019, the UCP increased the province’s share of photo radar revenue to 40 per cent from 27. That fiscal year, the revenue generated was $203 million across the province.
By last year, total revenue was down to $145 million, Dreeshen said Monday.
"At the end of the day, this is going to be a hit to the province (financially) as well."
Among the top five revenue-generating sites listed by the government in 2023, four are in Edmonton and area, each collecting between $2.1 million and almost $6 million per year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2024.
Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
