I would like to thank [Morinville CAO] Debbie [Oyarzun] for writing a well thought out document regarding photo radar. It is clear that the Town has “heard” the unkind things said about our “cash” cow. I’m pleased to see that there is actually going to be a review done and would hope that the findings are brought before the public prior to any action being done or decisions made by council. I would hope that one of the decisions would be that ITS [Integrated Traffic Services] does NOT have any say on the sites/locations and that whoever is responsible for the contract ensures that they meet once a month or whatever it takes to ensure that the contract rules are being followed.
I would like to set the stage in saying that I have not received any speeding tickets from the RCMP, the Peace Officers or photo radar so I am not complaining because I am speeding through town. I live in Sunshine Estates which is right across from the Lift Station where the photo radar is most often located. It appears that how the vehicle is parked, etc., etc. the focus is very limited (maybe the last 500 or 600 feet) before you are out of town and into the county. I would like to quote from a comment Andy made [on] Stephen’s article: “How can you call it that it’s there for pedestrian safety when the operator hides on the east side of the building, past the school bus stop and the “unmarked crosswalk”?
The arguments of the whole photo radar issue could go on forever and as usual not everyone would be happy. I believe that there is not one person in Morinville who would not agree that safety is a concern and is important but don’t believe that the ITS group should have the authority to determine the “unsafe” sites. What I would like to see made public in the local paper or on [MorinvilleNews.com] are statistics proving what Debbie is saying. My questions would be:
1/ For one fiscal year (January to December) what was the total revenue earned by the Town from the ITS contract?
2/ How much of the total revenue went towards funding the Cultural Centre vs. how much went to [traffic safety] education?
3/ What is the total revenue earned from EACH site – this information should be available from ITS – this would clearly show if an unusually high figure is shown for the Lift Station site.
4/ I’m not aware of the hours laid out in the contract but would be interested if ITS could provide a report at how many hours are spent at EACH site.
5/ How many tickets issued by ITS at the famous Lift Station were for speed over 80 kilometres per hour?
I doubt if I will get any actual answers to the above questions and so the complaining continues. I am also interested in Safety but think there are some valid concerns and questions regarding the whole photo radar contract issue.
Thank you
Linda Lyons
1 Trackback / Pingback
Comments are closed.