Letter: Photo radar and cross walks

Dear Editor:

Good Day, I sent the following letter to the Mayor and Council of Morinville, via e-mail, regarding a recent article in the St Albert Gazette pertaining to the photo radar issue in Morinville:

First off, I am at a loss as to why I should have to send my e-mails to an executive assistant rather than directly to the councillors that I am asking questions to. I did NOT vote for this executive assistant, I apparently voted for councillors who I thought would be available to my concerns, after all, the motto of the mayor and council is “We Listen, We Serve, We Achieve”! That is kind of hard to do when someone is editing your e-mails. I am sure that the Town of Morinville could provide training so that all members of council could access, read and reply to their own e-mails? My main question and concern which I wish delivered to the mayor and ALL of council is:

In a recent article in the St Albert Gazette regarding photo radar, a person by the name of Bruce Kaminski stated that the photo radar company monitors 100 Avnuee eastbound as it leaves Morinville because it “leads toward an unmarked crosswalk and bus stop.” I am familiar with this area as I received two photo radar tickets last year taken three weeks apart as I drove past the water treatment plant at this location at 6:50 a.m. on my way to work. I am assuming that the bus stop mentioned is a school bus stop as we no longer have any public bus transit in town? He also states that the RCMP have specifically requested them to “monitor” this area.

So, my question:

If, as the mayor has stated, photo radar is NOT a cash cow and this area has been identified as a potentially dangerous area for pedestrians by the RCMP due to speeding vehicles, why has the transportation committee along with the RCMP not directed the Town of Morinville to spend the approximately $600 it would take to paint the crosswalk area and erect pedestrian crossing signs at this location, thereby possibly saving a life? Could it be due to the fact that the town would lose a potential $300 to 400 thousand dollars (my estimate) in revenue from photo radar in this area alone? As a citizen and a taxpayer of Morinville, I am demanding that this dangerous location be identified by painting a crosswalk and erecting pedestrian crossing signs immediately. I am expecting a written reply from the mayor and EVERY councillor as to their stand on this request. I also wonder what the protocol is regarding the identification of hazardous areas and the time line in which the Solicitor General’s office would determine that they should be rectified? Bottom line folks, this location was identified as a safety concern almost three years ago (or more) and yet the town of Morinville is sticking its head in the sand and ignoring a potential serious accident so that it can collect the revenue from photo radar.

Bill Graham
Morinville AB

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6 Comments

  1. I think it is SHAMEFUL that our public officials, (councillors) do not wish to be available to the public via email. A norm, in today’s tech world.

    Kudos to the Mayor for showing leadership and allowing us to contact you directly by clicking on the Mayor link. You can set the example I guess but can’t force anyone to follow.

  2. Good morning Joe,

    I couldn’t agree more. Every resident in town should be able to contact each councillor directly via the town website. A few councillors (including myself) have asked for an inquiry into this last month. Hopefully this will be addressed as soon as possible. In the meantime please feel free to contact me at nboutestein@morinville.ca as I would be more than happy to hear from you.

  3. I agree with Nicole’s comments – having our emails listed on the town website is something that was brought up recently and is being addressed. It was like that for the previous Council (when you were on, Joe) and several Councillors have asked that it be changed.

    I would be more than happy to hear from anyone on any issue by email at lholmes@morinville.ca or by phone 572-4445. I also have a website – http://www.lisaholmes.ca that has a form where you can contact me individually and lists all my contact information as well.

    Bill – thank you for submitting your letter here. I took notice of that crosswalk a few weeks ago when I saw a little guy running across the highway to catch the bus and was planning on bringing my concerns up at a future council meeting. Your letter has motivated me to move more quickly on that. Thank-you.

  4. I have an amazing idea on what do do with your complaints regarding photo radar… SHOVE IT. It’s very simple, if you speed, you deserve to be caught. The Town of Morinville is all a 50km/hr zone (except school zones). Deal with it!!!!

  5. It is my understanding that the Transportation Committee is looking at crosswalks, stop signs, etc. through out the whole town.

  6. It has been more then 10 years since I got a speeding ticket of any kind. My trick? I drive the speed limit.

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