THUNDER BAY – Motorists in Thunder Bay may need to be more cautious when passing through a traffic light, as city council has voted unanimously to create a business case for implementing a red-light camera program that operates under the administrative penalty system.
“Administration has completed another business case study on the red light camera program, and we do see benefits there for traffic safety, as well as the program is financially sustainable,” said Kayla Dixon, commissioner of infrastructure and operations.
City staff recommended proceeding with the red light camera program, incorporating changes to the Provincial Offences Act court system that would transition it to an administrative penalty system.
Thus, if a red-light camera snaps a traffic violation, Dixon said the provincial offences court system won't process those tickets.
Instead, a provincially approved third-party vendor hired to provide and maintain the red-light cameras will provide the municipality with information about the traffic offence, and the municipality would be responsible for processing the ticket, Dixon said.
The vendor provides the information to the municipality. From there, it would go to a joint processing centre, where a provincial offence officer would review the information to make sure the offence is accurate. Once that process is done, the municipality would issue the ticket.
Engineering director Matthew Miedema said there would be 10 red light cameras installed throughout the city; however, “if the program is successful in reducing collisions and improving safety, we would have the option to increase.”
Mayor Ken Boshcoff asked if the driver would see a speeding infraction on their driver’s licence or would the ticket be placed on the vehicle.
Miedema said the administrative penalty system is similar to parking tickets, and would be tied to the vehicle’s licence plate.
The public will not see a loss in demerit points through this system.
At-Large Coun. Rajni Agarwal wanted more information about the process of ticket disputes, and whether or not the city would have to defend the ticket or the provincial offences.
Director of revenue Kathleen Cannon said a dispute would be settled by a hearing officer who would make a final decision on the offence. The city's legal team would not have any involvement.
McInytre Coun. Albert Aiello asked what the grounds would be for a member of the public to dispute a ticket.
Cannon said that if the administrative penalty system were adopted, administration would create a process to dispute a ticket.
Dixon added that poor weather conditions, like snow obstructing a licence plate, would be grounds for a dispute.
City administration will now create a business case to implement a red-light camera program with a vendor to operate the program. If the business case is passed by city council, the red light cameras are not expected to be implemented until 2027.
