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I received a ticket, which I have no intention of contesting, but I believe the town should put a pause on tickets until revisiting every automated speed camera location, this time with driver safety in mind.
Mine was issued by St. Andrew’s College (SAC) on Yonge Street. Fine. But I recalled some confusion around that area because once the safety zone signs went up, there was a sign directly across from the SAC entrance northbound still showing 60 km/h.
I use that route a lot, so I went back to check on Oct. 23, it had finally been changed to the 50 km/h safety zone. But if you drive south in that same stretch, you still encounter a mixture of 60 km/h signs inside the safety zone, and the same is true going north.
On Oct. 23, I retook the northbound side and saw the 60 km/h sign between the SAC entrance and St. John’s Sideroad, followed within a few feet by a safety zone sign, but nowhere along that north side is there a sign indicating the end of the safety zone.
Even though there were lots of warnings before the cameras started up, I believe every location should have been evaluated prior to installation as to what other road signs would need to be changed.
In a worst case, someone might take a ticket to court (now the administrative monetary penalty system) and claim the camera is entrapment because of other speed signs within the area. I haven’t checked other installations in the area, but it’s likely there are others that may convey similar confusing messages to drivers.
Phil Parsons
Newmarket
