The government of Alberta is restricting the use of photo radar in the province.
With changes coming in April of 2022, the government is putting the onus on municipalities to justify each location where photo radar is deployed to ensure the technology is used for traffic safety and not for revenue.
“Photo radar should only be used for traffic safety – not as a cash cow to squeeze extra money from Albertans,” said Kaycee Madu, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General.
“Our government has worked with police services and municipalities to implement changes that will ensure photo radar technology is used only to ensure our roads remain safe.”
A list of changes coming in to effect in the new year include:
- restrictions on photo radar use in transition zones and on residential roads with less than 50 km/h speed limits (restrictions do not apply to school, playground or construction zones)
- eliminating double ticketing within five minutes
- mandating all photo radar enforcement vehicles be clearly visible
- requiring rationale and data for sites to justify the use of photo radar
Municipalities will have around one year to enforce these changes, including those that have budgetary implications.
The freeze on automated traffic enforcement that was set in place Dec. 1, 2019 will be extended until Dec. 1, 2022, which prohibited municipalities from:
- installing new photo radar equipment
- upgrading existing photo radar devices
- adding new photo radar locations
The extension for the freeze is to allow municipalities to implement the new guidelines.
To learn more about the RMWB’s photo radar you can click here.
