Traffic Safety and Photo Radar

Traffic safety is an issue across all communities in District 18 Rustico-Emerald. I have been advocating for various measures to be implemented for years now, with some success; speed radar displays, widened shoulders, more police presence, etc. https://bradtrivers.com/issue/speeding-in-our-communities-traffic-safety/ However many have mentioned that red light cameras and photo radar systems to catch traffic law violations would make a huge difference. This is the subject of my questions below on June 6, 2023. https://youtu.be/u8RyGUitj30 Mr. Trivers: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Traffic safety is becoming a bigger and bigger issue in our communities due to increase in population, lots and lots of tourism traffic – which is a good thing, but it really stresses the traffic, the roads, in particular – and of course, there’s a lack of police services. Couple that with active transportation initiatives, where we’re bringing more cyclists and pedestrians on the road, growing communities – for example, the Town of North Rustico – need a formal evaluation and strategy to ensure their roads remain safe and get safer.

Improving traffic safety

Question to the minister of transportation: What measures are you taking to improve traffic safety in our communities? Speaker: The hon. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. Mr. Hudson: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker, and thank the hon. member for the question. Certainly, a great question. Absolutely, as our population increases, the use of vehicles on our roads increases. Highway safety always has to be paramount with my department, and certainly, right across government. With regard to some of the measures that have been taken, one of the things that was approved, actually, last fall here in the Legislature was an amendment to the Highway Traffic Act that will allow for the use of photo radar and red light. I have to give credit, too, to the Federation of Municipalities and our police agencies for advocating for this. Thank you.Speaker: The hon. Member from RusticoEmerald, your first supplementary. Mr. Trivers: Thank you, Madam Speaker.The hon. minister, I think, read my mind. It’s something I’ve been advocating for for years, here Legislature. It’s great to see those changes in place because those traffic violations are at the root of what – if we can stop them, we can make our roads safe. Photo radar devices detect the speed of moving vehicles, take pictures of the license plate, and send a ticket if the driver is going too fast.

Implementation of photo radar

I guess my question to the minister is, because I don’t see any photo radar implemented yet, what is the status of photo radar implementation in PEI? Speaker: The hon. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. Mr. Hudson: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker, and again, to the hon. member, great question, really. As I had mentioned, the Highway Traffic Act was amended last fall. My department, together with the department of justice, are presently working on the regulations. I’m not going to give an exact date, but certainly, we need to have that put in place as soon as possible, Madam Speaker.Thank you. Speaker: The hon. Member from RusticoEmerald, your second supplementary. Mr. Trivers: Madam Speaker, I think that we’ve seen in the jurisdictions that have implemented photo radar across Canada that, really, it’s efficient, it’s effective, and it’s relatively inexpensive. Really, I don’t know what the delay is all about. We’ve got the legislation in place. We’re ready to go. We’ve waited for years for this. Question to the minister of transportation: Will you commit to coming up with a plan and a date when you will implement photo radar on Prince Edward Island? Speaker: The hon. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. Mr. Hudson: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. In conjunction with minister of justice and see if we can provide the Legislature here with an exact date, or at least a close timeframe. With that too, I think that we need to look at some of the other actions that our government has taken to address things like photo radar; certainly, red light, more in our municipalities; things that we have taken on our roadways to address excessive speeding; and certainly, some of the increases in the fine structures that we have seen there. This government has taken action and will take action, Madam Speaker, to address this. Thank you very much.