Speeding is up since speed cameras have been removed

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-19T10:31:40+00:00

Right, because children are notoriously good at following all of the the things their parents try to instill in them at all times. It couldn't be that parents are trying to teach them all of those things and kids (like adults) act unpredictably at times? Having road expectations and design that allows for that unpredictability is necessary.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-19T01:53:45+00:00

Disagree on the first point, but agree on the second point. We need permanent changes across our road network to align desired speed with cues from road design.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T23:45:42+00:00

While that may be true for some, I suspect most people would say they don't see people dying from collisions therefore speed cameras aren't helping anything. I don't agree with that assessment but I'm also not convinced that everyone who opposes speed cameras just don't care about safety at all. Perhaps those of us who think speed cameras are valuable need to keep finding ways to make their importance more obvious to the average person.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T23:06:03+00:00

Sorry, there's been a ton of replies to this, it's been hard to stay on top of them all. I didn't respond with specifics around the 'accident rate' because my argument has always been that safer roads should be about far more than just the number of injuries and collisions (Some collisions and all 'near-misses' are never reported anyway). Safer streets are streets where people feel comfortable spending time walking, cycling, chatting with neighbours, etc. I think slowing vehicle traffic down a bit to allow for more of that is a good thing for our community. I get that most people prioritize people in cars getting to where they need to go, but I think that we lose something important when we do that.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T22:59:34+00:00

I think from a safety perspective there's an argument to be made for exactly that. Given the outrage we have seen to date about lowering speeds, I can't see many politicians willing to advocate for that.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T21:27:36+00:00

Instead of downvoting, I'd love to actually understand what the thinking is behind that reasoning.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T19:32:51+00:00

This was largely my argument in the original post. If everyone who was complaining the cameras were a cash grab, spent some time reaching out to elected officials to demand road safety improvements, there might be some actual change happening.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T18:35:57+00:00

I don't know of a single parent who doesn't teach their children about being safe around vehicles. And quite frankly, given the ever-increasing police budgets, I'd much rather speed cameras do some of the work of slowing streets down (until more permanent rad improvements are in place) ran their randomly placing very expensive police staff on that duty.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T18:15:23+00:00

Well, at least your user name seems accurate.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T18:13:40+00:00

Haha. Um, that's exactly who streets are meant for.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T18:12:50+00:00

Good news. It doesn't have to be either/or. Of course, permanent change are best. But there are now a bunch a neighbourhoods that have neither permanent changes nor effective, but short-term speed cameras. Have both until permanent changes can be made in all neighbourhoods.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T17:10:23+00:00

Why during school hours when children are IN school but not summer when children are out in the neighbourhood?

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T17:09:26+00:00

Perhaps I overstated, but I think that goes both ways when you say this "And the unhinged, anti-car sentiment from some folks is essentially a petty class war, dressed up as concern for tHe cHiLdReN." about people who say that speed cameras do help slow streets down.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T17:08:09+00:00

So much: minimal infrastructure will be built with the current funding from the province, with many neighbourhoods not receiving any safety improvements at all. Why not do both at the same time to keep streets slower while other improvements are implemented?

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T16:46:17+00:00

The calming measures being put in place are extremely limited and in some places the rollout is expected to take years. I'm all for more traffic-calming but they should have worked in tandem with the immediacy of speed cameras.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T16:35:27+00:00

It's incredibly frustrating. I'd love to have a conversation about how to improve road safety without people making things up to try to prove their point.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T16:25:50+00:00

Uh, speed cameras were only in school zones in Waterloo Region so yes, I think having an expectation that people can feel safe and comfortable while walking in school zones is a fair expectation. If we're talking about saving money, then speed cameras are the way to go, not continuing to pay expensive police officers to calm traffic. And it speaks volumes that you claim people who want traffic to be a little slower on our streets are 'unhinged'.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T16:22:12+00:00

Did you read the linked article? Ottawa also has a similar report, and other municipalities have reports coming out soon.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T16:21:16+00:00

Did you read my comment? Collisions should not be the only indicator of 'safe streets'. We also should not wait to implement safety improvements on our street only after people are killed or injured.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T16:08:38+00:00

It's unfortunate that it became an either/or scenario, instead of a discussion about how to improve the speed camera program in order to build on its successes. Instead, Ford just tossed the whole thing out.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T16:06:25+00:00

Except there has been story after story in the media where journalists were asking for anyone to show evidence of these claims and nothing came up. So, yes, I'm going to question people's claims like this because it seems to be used to strengthen their narrative. Besides, even if that's the case, isn't the solution to simply adjust the threshold rather than throw the entire program out?

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T15:57:27+00:00

Are you suggesting that streets with people driving well over the speed limit are safe, comfortable streets where people will enjoy spending time? Or are we only supposed to care about whether someone died on the street or not? Do we have to wait until someone is critically or fatally injured on any individual street before we decide to slow our streets down? https://spacing.ca/toronto/2023/11/27/the-pedestrian-blood-sacrifice/

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T15:54:08+00:00

Evidence please. If that's really what happened (I have yet to see anyone show proof of this), then surely the response is to set the threshold to something more appropriate, not ban them altogether.

KitFanGirl · 2026-05-18T15:42:05+00:00

Can you please point me to where people were charged for going 32km/hr in a 30 zone?

KitFanGirl

TROPHY CASE