Speed camera 'about making roads safer'

One of four stretches of road in front of schools in the region that were equipped with cameras to catch speeding drivers at the start of the new year is in Niagara-on-the-Lake.  

As part of Niagara Region’s Vision Zero program, automated speed enforcement efforts are set up along Niagara Stone Road in Virgil near Crossroads Public School.  

This location, along with ones in Fort Erie, Grimsby, and Lincoln, are community safety zones, areas near schools, where drivers could be instantly ticketed for going above the limit – without the physical presence of a police officer.  

The camera on NIagara Stone Road will be in operation for about 90 days, according to the Region’s website.  

The new addition to the busy thoroughfare was also part of a discussion at the town’s committee-of-the-whole panning meeting Tuesday night.  

During the new business portion of the meeting, Coun. Erwin Wiens raised the issue about whether motorists are aware of the enforcement tool at the location, saying he’d like to see more adequate signage.  

“Getting a ticket in the mail two weeks later – it doesn’t stop speeding at the time,” said Wiens, adding that social media and other channels like print media have played roles in spreading the word – but that he’d like to see better warnings on site.  

“It’s meant to reduce injuries – not increase coffers,” said Wiens.  

Bruce Zvaniga, the town’s new interim chief administrative officer, said he would follow up with the Region, but noted that the signage currently in front of the school is provincially regulated, and that additional markers may have to be “somewhat remote” from what’s already been erected so they don’t interfere with what’s there currently.  

Coun. Gary Burroughs asked if the camera is catching speeders headed in both directions along Niagara Stone Road, to which Zvaniga said he would also ask regional staff.  

Starting in April, the four cameras will rotate to other spots in the region until the end of June, one of them staying in Niagara-on-the-Lake – along York Road between Queenston Road and Concession 3 in front of St. Davids Public School.  

Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa also provided councillors with information about the program, explaining that the speed limit in front of Crossroads Public School is 40km/h from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays when the school is open.  

After those hours, it is 50 km/h. But either way, the camera is running 24 hours per day.  

“It’s about making roads safer and changing behaviour,” said Zalepa, who also sits on regional council. He said Tuesday night that the Net Zero program is a “great project.” 

Concerns about speeding are something he hears from constituents about regularly – and that he believes the regional government is “open to listening to what the public has to say” about the Net Zero program, he added.  

Zalepa also said revenues generated by tickets are reinvested in road safety initiatives at the Region.