If you tend to hit the bend on Big Bay Point Road with some speed, just know the town and its police service is watching.
The municipality, in collaboration with the South Simcoe Police Service, has set up a camera to capture information on speeding vehicles a few hundred metres from the eastern tip of Big Bay, not too far from an entry point to Friday Harbour. Mounted to a telephone pole and noticeable due to a large solar panel, it collects data about speeding vehicles that the town can use to improve traffic safety in the area.
“The town is committed to keeping our roads safe for both motorists and pedestrians,” operations director Nicole Bowman said. “The automated speed warning camera, which rotates between locations, is a tool to assist us in achieving our traffic safety goals.”
Information is also sent to police to review — when warranted, they may also issue warning letters to the vehicle owner. The town says police issue about 600 letters related to this initiative each year.
The letters, however, do not result in fines or the loss of demerit points.
"It's just another tool in our tool belt that we can use to respond to our community's number one concern, which is traffic," Sgt. Dave Phillips said. "We're one of the first to use photo radar in this application across the province — just strictly a warning letter system."
The camera has been used by the municipality for the last few years. It moves around to different sites every one to two months — locations are selected by the town’s traffic safety advisory committee, within input from police.
Phillips recalls the camera being erected along Jans Boulevard at one point, and police noticing the same car speeding a dozen times over two days. He says he spoke to the registered owner, who was out of the country and had let their son use the vehicle.
"I was able to give that feedback to a parent about how their vehicle was being operated," he said. "Police are often portrayed as being ... heavy on enforcement. This tool comes with no repercussions. It simply starts a conversation around dinner tables in our community about speed. Quite often, it ends up being someone's kid using mom or dad's car. I don't know if you've ever had a ticket before, but would you have corrected your behaviour with a letter? Maybe. A lot of us are responsible vehicle owners. It's a nice second chance ... instead of giving them a $300 ticket."
South Simcoe runs a similar program in Bradford, and has noticed a significant drop in speeding in some locations where the camera is deployed, Phillips said.
"I can't have that kind of effect as a police officer in that same zone with the small amount of time it takes to send out 50 or 60 letters," he said. "If we put the camera there, we can quickly root out the one or two people who are part of the problem. Using that evidence-based approach to target the biggest offenders, that's something the community can really get behind. It can validate or rule out the need for policing in a particular stretch."
This location on Big Bay was noted by Innisfil's previous advisory committee term as an area of community concern, Bowman said.
“The camera will collect data that will illustrate rates of speeding in this area and issue warnings to discourage drivers from speeding,” she said. “There is a monthly data fee for the camera — similar to a cell phone plan. (Police) apply human resources as they are available to review the data and issue letters. The cost of the mailing is nominal and covered within operating budgets.”
This program is unrelated to the red-light camera installed at the intersection of King Street and Queen/Church Street in Cookstown in December. There, the automated system takes photographs of vehicles that enter the intersection after the traffic signal turns red and captures other relevant data such as vehicle speed, date, and exact time the car crossed the stop line. Data is securely transmitted to a processing centre for review by a provincial offences officer and, if validated, a ticket is sent to the registered plate holder.
