So, you want the Town of Cochrane to start making some extra money to pay for capital projects…oh, like the aquatic/curling facility say?
How about also putting a dent in the battle against the ever-growing vexation with those pesky speeders racing around town?
There is a way to accomplish both of these hot-topic issues and, at the very least, make each situation a little more bearable for those who are perturbed with the price tag attached to the new pool complex, while at the same time get heavy-footed drivers to ease off on the gas pedal.
Two birds with one stone, so the saying goes.
Anyone have an idea how this could be done?
Photo radar – two very dirty words.
There is tremendous revenue potential for a municipality when it comes to Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE), and that money can be used for a myriad of things.
In Canmore, for example, photo radar has been utilized for several years, and according to the Town of Canmore website, since 2008, $1.4 million of revenues has been used to fund various projects, including upgrades to the Bow River Bridge.
Canmore has added 1.5 RCMP officers to its force through photo radar revenues and also put in mobile speed display signs and audible traffic signals have been installed.
Up until just last year, Canmore’s revenue model for photo radar allotted the municipality a quarter of the revenue from the enforcement, with half going to the province and the remainder to the ATE contractor.
Each revenue model can be quite different. For example, the City of Calgary, which also utilizes photo radar, garners 68.33 per cent of the funds from photo radar fines, with 15 per cent going to the province and 16.67 per cent to Victim Services.
Either way the funding is distributed, it provides millions of dollars to a municipality to use how it chooses.
Whether the money could be used for projects like the pool, or only on road infrastructure projects is a moot point, because either way it would help the Town of Cochrane pay its bills.
And, with several projects coming down the pike (pardon the pun) – like the bridge, traffic lights and the one thing most Cochranites would like to see, Highway 1A/22 twinned (which, if possible to negotiate, why not see if the province would allocate its share of the photo radar funds toward this necessary upgrade) – any additional funding would be helpful.
But just hold on a minute here. Don’t most people hate the idea of photo radar? Doesn’t it just feel wrong to have some guy sitting in a truck with a camera just waiting to nab some unsuspecting motorist who was just about to slow down anyway?
It is true that many people don’t like photo radar, particularly those who have been caught by one. But the fact of the matter is that there are many ways a municipality could use this service. As in Canmore, all photo radar locations are approved by the local RCMP, and if the town and Cochrane RCMP were to employ photo radar in areas like school zones, playground areas and highly-congested residential streets around town, who’s to say this service wouldn’t be a win-win for the town, for safety and for taxpayers?
Is it going to pay for everything? No. But every little bit helps.
We don’t need to be stopping people who are going 55km/hr in a 50km/hr-zone, but if speeding is the epidemic many feel it is in Cochrane, there should be plenty of lead-footed drivers who would love the opportunity to contribute to the town’s endless to-do list.
