Dear editor:

I read the article, “Speed cameras doing their job: Region,” with interest.

Full disclosure, I have not yet been ticketed nor charged with a photo offence.

I have a lengthy safety and risk management background and I wouldn’t jump to the conclusions that the region has quite so quickly, particularly if your article reported all the data contained in the regional report.

Before declaring victory, I would like to see the ticket issuance data in terms of number of tickets handed out per each 100 (or 1,000) cars moving through the strip of road covered by the camera on York Road on a weekly or monthly basis, perhaps further sub-divided by the hour in which the offences occurred.

If the traffic levels dropped more than they usually do in Niagara-on-the-Lake between September and December, where are the vehicles going?

For example, when the camera was activated on York Road in St. Davids, I stopped using the part of York Road between Tanbark and Four Mile Creek Road.

There are two very convenient alternate routes that ensure I don’t have to know whether the posted speed limit is 40 km/h or 50 km/h.

I wonder if traffic on these alternate routes has increased?

And finally, the objective of speed reduction efforts is (or should be) to reduce the frequency and severity of traffic accidents and near-misses.

So, I wonder how that’s going?

I also would be interested in a comparison of visitor versus local ticket numbers.  That might help determine where to aim further mitigation measures.

I know 181 sounds like a lot of tickets issued in a month, but that works out to one ticket every four hours on average in September and one every 12 hours in December (if the system is working 24/7).

I wonder if the $500,000 budgeted for this safety program is being spent in the most effective way?

Kenn Moody
St. Davids