A tie vote led to a defeated motion regarding Automated Speed Enforcement cameras at a meeting of Belleville City Council on Tuesday.
The motion brought forward by Councillor Kathryn Brown called on the Province of Ontario, through the Ministry of Transportation, to work with municipalities that operate ASE programs and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario to develop improvements that “contribute to promoting greater consistency and alignment across the ASE program.”
Councillor Brown had brought forward the motion before Premier Doug Ford indicated that his government will be tabling a motion that would ban the use of Automated Speed Enforcement cameras.
“All we’re asking is for the opportunity to confer and provide actual insights about our program, and programs of other municipalities, for those of us and from those of us who have the most in-depth knowledge about our roadways and our community,” Councillor Brown told council in discussing the motion.
“Instead of spending billions of taxpayer dollars reconfiguring roads, adding more traffic-calming methods, cluttering streetscapes with bigger signs and adding big, yellow flashing lights – then where we could actually be using the money is in housing, health care, mental health and addictions. Simply put, automated speed enforcement only costs those who break the law.”
In discussing the motion, Councillor Paul Carr said despite his support of the camera program, he would not be supporting the motion as it is written.
He said that the motion doesn’t make a clear distinction of reinvesting into traffic safety initiatives.
“We’ve used ASE money for The Bridge hub, and I didn’t agree with that. I felt that that it should be going into traffic safety,” Carr explained.
“So I have a little bit of a conflict in my mind, because how can we advocate to the province that we want to have a program that’s about traffic safety, and yet we’re not reinvesting into traffic safety.”
Councillor Barbara Enright-Miller spoke in favour of the motion.
“Yes, we diverted from where we thought it was going to go, but the money that we used it for, the doctor recruitment and the (HART) hub, is also money that we should be getting from the province,” Councillor Enright-Miller explained.
“So why shouldn’t we use it for something like this and not off the tax bill for the residents? Why shouldn’t we use that kind of money from people that are breaking the law and supporting the cause?”
In a recorded vote, the motion was defeated after a tie 4-4.
Voting in favour of the motion were councillors Kathryn Brown, Barbara Enright-Miller, Sean Kelly, and Margaret Seu.
Voting against included councillors Paul Carr, Lisa-Anne Chatten, Kelly Henderson and Mayor Neil Ellis.
