The Town of St. Paul will be considering which direction to take with photo radar in town, as its two-year contract with Global Traffic Group will soon come to an end.
Coun. Dwight Wiebe explained that he spoke to the company operating the town’s photo radar, and he said it sounds as though “everything has slowed down for them,” and the town should look at moving to a maintenance model.
People are slowing down in their vehicles, and there’s not much revenue being made, he added. Wiebe noted he is pleased that the program appears to have worked.
A couple of other councillors around the table at Tuesday night’s regular council meeting, including Mayor Glenn Andersen, agreed that traffic in St. Paul has slowed down dramatically. Coun. Norm Noel stated that he also spoke with Global and got the impression that St. Paul is not a “money-making” community.
Coun. Ken Kwiatkowski said he didn’t feel that taking photo radar away completely would be a good answer, since people could easily fall back into their old habits.
Following the council meeting, Andersen the town is trying to figure out the cost of running its own photo radar, rather than sign a new agreement with a company.
When asked what a “maintenance model” might involve, Andersen said he understood it to mean Global would spend fewer hours in town doing photo radar, but would still be around to ensure people are adhering to the speed limits.
Wiebe noted that one option he was made aware of would be to split the hours that Global is spending in the community, with another nearby municipality that is interested in bringing photo radar into their community.
Andersen said the money brought in by the Town of St. Paul from photo radar tickets wasn’t a lot. But, the plan was always to put any money collected toward traffic safety initiatives, including the installation of a pedestrian crossing light at the Co-op intersection.
In 2015, the net revenue from photo radar was just under $56,000, and in 2016 (up to and including August) it was just over $29,500, according to information from town CAO Holly Habiak.
The pedestrian crosswalk system is expected to cost about $70,000, she added. The lights are expected to be installed this fall.
Andersen noted that of course, people who received tickets weren’t happy to get them, but however, stood by the decision to introduce photo radar, saying there have been fewer collisions occurring at controlled intersections since it was introduced.
“I think the idea is that we all have to pay more attention.”
Amil Shapka was among a group of locals who spoke out against the town’s initial decision to move ahead with photo radar. Shapka wrote a letter addressed to Habiak on Oct. 5, asking if the town was going to be renewing is agreement with Global Traffic.
When speaking to the Journal, Shapka said he still felt strongly that the town should consult the community before renegotiating with Global Traffic.
“My point is that I think the community should decide,” said Shapka.
Shapka brought up the petition that had been signed by over 700 people when photo radar was being introduced in town. Although the town deemed the petition invalid, the number of signatures showed that the community wanted to be part of the conversation, said Shapka.
In his letter, Shapka asked that council defer entering into any further contracts until a plebiscite is held, which could be done during the next municipal election in 2017.
“The community has clearly demonstrated its desire to have a say on this matter,” said Shapka.
