Wynne announcement on safety cameras, lower speeds in school zones: McKenney, Leiper

This morning, Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne announced that the provincial government will introduce legislation to allow cities to use speed cameras and reduce speed limits in school zones. Councillors Catherine McKenney (Somerset) and Jeff Leiper (Kitchissippi) applaud this intiative, which reflects a longstanding desire on the part of residents of both wards for safer streets.

At the Transportation Committee of City Council in May, both McKenney and Leiper appealed to colleagues to support safety cameras as an important tool in reducing speed in the vicinity of schools and in residential neighbourhoods. Intensification and increasing congestion are leading to more aggressive driving, and automated tools combined with lower speed limits will help address this problem.

“Speeding and aggressive and distracted driving are continued problems in downtown wards,” said McKenney. “The toll in deaths, injuries and reduced quality of life of these behaviours is unacceptable. The announcement this morning by Premier Wynne is a good first step in ensuring the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. As the Vice-Chair of the Transportation Committee, I am committed to ensuring the City of Ottawa takes advantage of these new tools.”

“Cities need more tools to deal with growing pedestrian and cycling safety problems. The Government has clearly heard the call by many downtown Ottawa residents for measures to address residential, high-speed cut-through traffic. There is no excuse for speeding near schools, and tools such as safety cameras will help drive home that message,” said Leiper.

Both Councillors McKenney and Leiper are looking forward to reading the draft legislation to ensure that the new law will have the broadest possible application. “Speeding is often a problem on the boundaries of school zones. Our thrust will be to ensure children are safe from door-to-door,” said McKenney.

“The use of safety cameras continues to be contentious in some quarters. My commitment is to ensure that in the discussions to follow, residents will have a strong voice advocating for their use,” said Leiper.

For more information, contact:

Councillor Catherine Mckenney

catherine.mckenney@ottawa.ca | 613.580.2484

or

Councillor Jeff Leiper

jeff.leiper@ottawa.ca | 613.580.2485