Town to get two Automated Speed Enforcement cameras

By Zachary Roman

A major fundraiser has begun for the local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel York (BBBSPY) has announced the dates of its 2023 Move For Kids' Sake fundraiser, alongside its title sponsor, Tim Hortons.

For those unfamiliar with BBBSPY, it's a non-profit organization dedicated to championing the health and wellbeing of youth. It's well-known for its mentoring programs where caring adult volunteers help youth overcome adversity.

Move For Kids' Sake is an annual team fundraising event where participants first must choose an activity they'd like to participate in.

This year, there's bowling and rock climbing events being held in Brampton, Mississauga and Newmarket. For those who can't make it to one of the events, there's the option to choose your own event and participate virtually.

The first event is bowling at Classic Bowl Mississauga, from 2 to 4 p.m. on February 26. The second is also bowling at Stellar Lanes Newmarket from 2 to 4 p.m. on March 4. The final event is rock climbing at Toprock Climbing from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on March 5.

Once an event is chosen, participants can register as an individual or team online at peel.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/event/move-for-kids-sake.. All participants in the event must raise a minimum of $100, and BBBSPY's goal is to raise $50,000 through the entire fundraiser. As of February 6, over 45 teams were already registered to participate in this year's event and they'd already raised over $16,000.

According to a staff report submitted to Council by Arash Olia, Caledon's Manager of Transportation Engineering, the ASE program is largely dependent on the court's capacity to process tickets given out by ASE cameras. Olia's report notes the maximum number of tickets that can be processed through the ASE program in Caledon per year is 12,000, no matter how many ASE cameras the Town has.

Town staff project that the cost of running the ASE camera program will be $241,000 per year. There will also be a new Town staff member hired to run the program.

“This program will require significant work effort to manage the associated service contracts, site selection, equipment deployment, data collection, and performance monitoring,” said Olia in their report. “To support and administer this program, an additional full-time employee in the Transportation Engineering Division is required. This new position will also support other traffic operational matters, such as traffic control and traffic calming initiatives.”

Ward 2 Councillor Dave Sheen began discussion about the ASE program at the General Committee meeting before the motion to implement the program was passed.

He said he was happy to hear ASE cameras are coming to town as during the election traffic safety was a huge issue of concern in his ward, and still is. Sheen expressed concerns that if there's only two cameras in Town, and the Town is advertising they're coming in advance, people may change their driving habits based on their knowledge of where the cameras are.

“I feel like there should be more cameras and less advertising,” he said. “...I'm just putting across the concerns of the residents in my neighborhood who are crying for traffic calming measures that actually have an impact on behavior.”

Olia explained that the Highway Traffic Act mandates that ASE cameras must be advertised before they are implemented. Olia told Sheen that data shows even after a camera is removed there is a noticeable speed reduction in the area it once was.

Regional Councillor Christina Early said a lot of effort and advocacy went into getting two cameras for Caledon and that six cameras is ultimately the goal.

Ward 1 Councillor Lynn Kiernan said she was happy to see how passionate Sheen is about traffic safety and that it's good to have Council aligned on the issue of traffic safety. 

“I'm happy to see these two (cameras) come forward… and I look forward to getting as many as we can and doing what we can to keep people safe on our roads,” said Kiernan.

Ward 4 Councillor Nick deBoer said the ASE camera program is about encouraging traffic safety from people driving through Caledon as well as from Caledon residents.

“It's taken us a long time to get here. In the previous Council we lobbied long and hard with the Solicitor General to get the changes needed and I'm glad to see it here,” said deBoer.

Council unanimously approved the motion to bring two mobile ASE cameras to Town.