A motion to have steps undertaken to eliminate the use of Automated Speed Enforcement cameras, with the exception of school zones, failed to pass at Belleville City Council on Monday.
The motion was introduced by Councillor Kelly Henderson, who at the previous council meeting called on the speed cameras to only be on during the daytime, shutting them off from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. That motion was defeated at the previous meeting.
Speaking to council about her motion, Councillor Henderson said that she had received 582 responses from an online survey she had put together and made available to the public.
She claimed that of the responses, 56% were opposed to ASE cameras, 30% were somewhat in favour, and 10% were completely in favour.
Other figures Henderson noted to council indicated 75% of respondents said they noticed increased traffic on neighbouring streets (due to drivers avoiding cameras) and 74% felt that ASE cameras had a direct negative financial impact on affected families.
In creating her motion, Henderson noted that the results of the survey showed that 55% of respondents preferred the cameras only be used in school zones during school hours, 31% wanted the cameras discontinued completely, and 8% continue as is.
Henderson thanked residents who took part in her survey.
“This isn’t anti-safety by any means. It’s pro engineering standards,” Henderson explained.
“Let’s protect our schools in areas with documented pedestrian activity while respecting traffic engineering and community planning principles. The current system generates revenue by penalizing predictable driver behavior on poorly matched road design. That’s not safety, that’s revenue generation.”
Councillor Lisa Anne Chatten expressed support for the motion, saying that the cameras were meant to be a temporary measure that was supposed to assist the Belleville Police Service in ensuring that they were able to control traffic and behaviour across the city.
“We do not have a traffic department here at City Hall, specific to traffic enforcement. That is a police issue. It’s an enforcement issue, and I just feel that we’re heading down a path where we’re going to be taking on something that doesn’t belong to us,” Chatten explained to council on why she changed her viewpoint on the cameras.
“It’s not about fixing roads, and I just feel that at this point we need to either scale back or get rid of them. It’s just beyond what it was intended to be from the very beginning.”
Councillor Paul Carr spoke against the motion, while also questioning the validity of the survey, arguing that the cameras are about public safety, not revenue, and cited evidence that they reduce speeding.
He stressed that the program is still new and that ticket numbers should decrease as driver behaviour changes.
“I think what needs to be considered is this is in its infancy. People don’t understand it, people don’t see it, they don’t pay attention. They’re in their own little bubble, and they’re driving and not paying attention to what’s going on and that’s the reality that we face, is that suddenly there’s this overwhelming amount of tickets, but it will go down over time as behaviour changes,” Councillor Carr told council.
“But at the end of the day, it’s simply about public safety.”
Councillor Garnet Thompson also spoke against the motion, saying that the cameras are strictly a safety measure.
He says he is hoping the city will next be able to bring in red light cameras.
“We need to slow people down. It’s ridiculous. So I’m not supporting the motion – I’m saying continue with this good aspect we have in the city and look forward to red light cameras,” Thompson said.
Voting in favour of the motion were councillors Kelly Henderson, Lisa-Anne Chatten and Mayor Neil Ellis.
Voting against were councillors Sean Kelly, Garnet Thompson, Barbara Enright-Miller, Paul Carr and Kathryn Brown.
