http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/columnists/tom_brodbeck/2011/03/08/17545831.html

News Columnists / Tom Brodbeck
Colour it absurd
Analysis of only new red-light cams urged

By TOM BRODBECK, Winnipeg Sun

Last Updated: March 9, 2011 7:12am

Let me get this straight. City officials are recommending that a traffic analysis be completed before any new red-light cameras are installed to ensure the intersection is a safe as it can be. But officials reject the idea of doing the same type of traffic analysis at existing photo enforcement intersections.

That makes a lot of sense.

The city’s manager of transportation has rejected the proposal of increasing the length of amber times at some intersections.

In a report that’s going to the city’s public works committee next week, public works officials say the standard four-second amber time used for all intersections is adequate, even though speed limits vary from 50 km/h to 80 km/h.

I don’t know how you can have the same amber time for a roadway where motorists are driving 50 km/h compared to one where the speed limit is 80 km/h. You don’t have to be a traffic engineer to know there’s a flaw in the system there.

And it’s exactly that flaw that’s helping the city and the for-profit corporation ACS Public Sector Solutions — which runs photo enforcement in the city — make a lot of money.

They don’t want to make intersections safer by doing the things they need to do, including extending amber times in some cases, because it would substantially reduce red-light infractions and profits would plummet. How else to explain why city officials are recommending that a traffic analysis be completed for any future red-light camera installation, but not for existing ones.

If the goal is to ensure everything possible is being done to make intersections safe — including having proper signage and amber times — then why not do the same traffic analysis at existing sites?

Because photo enforcement is not about safety, that’s why. It’s about cash.

If city hall is at all concerned about safety at these intersections, they would at least try longer amber times to see whether they result in a drop in red-light infractions. What would they have to lose?

I think we all know the answer to that question.

Meanwhile, the report going to the public works committee isn’t even a real report. There is no analysis of the studies and conclusions drawn in U.S. states where they have made adjustments to ambers and where red-light infractions have dropped sharply as a result.

The evidence in the U.S. is so overwhelming, it’s unbelievable city officials here are not taking them seriously.

But I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised. City hall will stop at nothing to protect their little money-making scheme.

And apparently they’re even prepared to forgo safety in order to do it.

It’s the same reason the city refuses to make public copies of red-light infractions. The group WiseUp Winnipeg has asked for copies of all red-light tickets (with names and personal information blacked out) so we can see how many motorists are getting nailed at 4.1 and 4.2 seconds.

The city claims ACS has those tickets and that it can’t force the corporation to make them public. Right.

City councillors who sit on the public works committee should at least ask traffic officials why they’re recommending that a traffic analysis be done for future photo enforcement intersections but not for existing ones.

It’s a pretty obvious question.

Let’s hope there are a least a few councillors who care more about road safety than photo enforcement profits.

For more, visit Brodbeck’s blog Raise a Little Hell at winnipegsun.com. Reach Tom by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Tom on Twitter: @tombrodbeck

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