The City of Victoria will ask the province to consider funding red-light and speed cameras at dozens of intersections around the city.
Council voted Thursday to have Mayor Marianne Alto write the province asking for speed and red-light cameras to be installed at all locations in Victoria where there were over 20 casualty crashes — those that resulted in injury or death — annually between 2018 and 2022.
That would mean adding cameras to more than 50 intersections in the city.
“We need more of these cameras,” said Coun. Dave Thompson, noting there is only one in use in the city, at the intersection of Shelbourne Street and Hillside Avenue. “We need to get serious about achieving Vision Zero. We have to eliminate traffic injuries and deaths.”
Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries.
Thompson, who said ICBC data shows there were 4,087 casualty crashes in Victoria over the last five years, had strong support around the table, though Coun. Marg Gardiner argued the number of crashes recorded in the city have been reduced by measures like improved crosswalks, neighbourhood traffic calming and lower speed limits.
Coun. Chris Coleman noted adding cameras, while a reactive measure, could be a useful tool to make significant change.
Coleman noted Quadra Village, where once there were five lanes of traffic in some spots, was changed for the better by traffic calming, adding street parking and reduced speeds though a partnership with ICBC years ago.
“It completely changed and the whole way we view Quadra Village as an urban core,” he said.
The motion also noted if the province wouldn’t fund it, that it allow municipalities to do it themselves.
But that could cost a pretty penny, with the cost of installing one camera at $190,520, and the average cost to operate tabbed at about $11,000 a year.
There are currently 140 cameras in 26 communities around B.C. including the one in Victoria and another at the corner of Tillicum Road and the Trans-Canada Highway in Saanich. The cameras take photos of vehicles that go through on a red light and tickets are issued to registered owners.
In a statement, the Public Safety Ministry said that more than 1,400 intersections were examined as part of a site analysis for the program and the camera locations were selected based upon several risk factors including crash frequency, crash severity, crash type, and the potential for improvement at the site.
“On average, the intersections selected for the program experienced 88 crashes per year, many of which resulted in injuries or fatalities and are the types of collisions that may be prevented with the automated enforcement,” the statement said. “If a decision is made to add new sites to the program, a rigorous data-driven and evidence-based selection process will be used to identify intersections that see the most serious injury crashes and have potential for improvement.”
The intersection of Shelbourne and Hillside sees an average of 40 crashes per year, with an average of 14 resulting in injury, while the intersection of Tillicum and Highway 1 sees an average of 39 crashes resulting in 18 injuries each year.
The intersection of Blanshard Street and Finlayson Avenue is the most high-risk in Victoria, with 79 crashes resulting in injury over the last five years, an average of nearly 16 each year.
