Give Us The Facts On Speed Cameras: BENN

Take it from an old accountant, don’t fall for revenue allocation deflections. Every dollar of speed camera revenue that is allocated to road safety is one less dollar that has to come from general tax revenues.

I do not have a problem with the speed cameras operating during school hours, as there is a at least the pretense of a correlation with the stated objective. That these cameras operate during non-school hours provides support for those who challenge that the program is solely directed at the safety of children.

What gets measured gets managed. If the city is serious that the speed cameras are there to promote road safety pretense, its reports would focus on comparative incident figures by location. For example, the number of road safety incidents by location for each of 2020 vs. 2021 vs. 2022 vs. 2023 vs. 2024. The same data set could present the number of tickets issued. Another report could show the number of tickets issued by speed, in say 5 kmh blocks.

These types of reports would provide evidence to support or refute the stated purpose of the program. Instead, the city reports focus primarily on the ticket revenue generated. Based on the prominence of what the city reports, it is fair to conclude that revenues trump road safety.

The old adage about honesty being the best policy comes to mind. Just tell us the truth. We are adults. We can handle it.

Ron Benn, a finance executive, has been a member of the Centrepointe Community Association for the better part of three decades.

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