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Transportation Minister announces changes to photo radar

Feb 21, 2019 | 12:16 PM

EDMONTON – Alberta Transportation Minister Brian Mason says it’s clear photo radar is being used as a cash cow by municipalities, and he is implementing changes he thinks will fix it.

Mason says the plan is to make the system more transparent, and to stop practises geared to raking in money rather than keeping roads safe.

Starting in June, photo radar will be banned immediately beside spots where the speed limit changes on highways.

Also in June, photo radar on high-speed, multi-lane highways won’t be allowed unless there is documented proof of safety concerns.

Municipalities, who take in the lion’s share of photo radar revenue, will also have to present a clear plan to use photo radar, backed up by collision data to prove it’s being used at high risk locations.

There are 27 municipalities using photo radar, and a report presented to the province says they generate about $220 million a year in revenue while reducing collisions by about 1.4 per cent.