The province is cracking down on speeders zooming through two of Kelowna’s busiest intersections.
As part of a new campaign to reduce speed that leads to accidents, the province is activating cameras already in place to generate automatic tickets for drivers speeding through the intersections of Harvey Avenue (Highway 97) at Cooper Road and Harvey Avenue (Highway 97) at Banks Road.
The Kelowna cameras will be two of 35 existing speed cameras across B.C. activated to issue the tickets. The other activted cameras are at intersections in the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley.
“We have a record number of crashes happening—more than 900 a day in our province—and about 60 per cent of the crashes on our roads are at intersections,” said Mike Farnworth, B.C.’s public safety and solicitor general.
“We’ve taken time to systematically pinpoint the locations linked to crashes and dangerous speeds that are best suited to safely catching, ticketing and changing the behaviours of those who cause carnage on B.C. roads.”
READ MORE: B.C. upgrades red light cameras to catch speeders
Over the last few years, the province has installed 140 cameras at B.C. busiest intersections to record the speed of vehicles passing through.
Between 2012 and 2016, the camera’s—which also monitor vehicle speeds—reported an average of 10,500 vehicles a year going at least 30 kilometres per hour over the posted speed limit.
The province says speed is one of the top contributing factors in casualty crashes at the 35 intersections, which have had a combined total of more than 11,500 collisions per year.
“The previous government only saw fit to activate each safety camera for up to six hours a day and to target only red-light runners,” said Farnworth. “We moved quickly to fully activate the red-light cameras, and now we’re adding speed enforcement because it works, and because we want people who travel through these busy intersections to get where they’re going safely.”
READ MORE: 70% of B.C. residents support using red-light cameras to snag speeders: survey
Farnworth said to discourage high speeds at the 35 locations, neither the government nor the police will disclose the speed threshold that will trigger the new cameras. He said that is consistent with every other Canadian jurisdictions using automated speed enforcement.
“Speed remains a major contributing factor in most serious and fatal collisions,” said Chief Const. Neil Dubord, chairman of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police traffic safety committee.
“We welcome the government’s initiative of using automated enforcement tools at intersections to provide an effective, safe and impartial way of saving lives and reducing serious injuries on our roadways.”
In addition to the Kelowna intersections, cameras are being activated to generate tickets at the following locations in B.C.:
Abbotsford:
Route 11 at Lonzo Road
Burnaby:
Kingsway at Boundary Road
Kingsway at Royal Oak Avenue
Willingdon at Deer Lake
Coquitlam:
Barnet Highway at Mariner Way
Delta:
Nordel Way at 84th Avenue
Langley:
200th Street at 64th Avenue
Route 10 at Fraser Highway
Maple Ridge:
Lougheed Highway at 207th Avenue
Nanaimo:
Island Highway at Aulds Road
North Vancouver:
Marine Drive at Capilano Road
Pitt Meadows:
Lougheed Highway at Old Dewdney Trunk Road
Port Coquitlam:
Lougheed Highway at Shaughnessy Street
Richmond:
Garden City Road at Cambie Road
Surrey:
128th Street at 88th Avenue
152nd Street at 96th Avenue
152nd Street at King George Boulevard
64th Avenue at 152nd Street
96th Avenue at 132nd Street
King George Boulevard at 104th Avenue
King George Boulevard at 80th Avenue
Vancouver:
Boundary Road at East 49th Avenue
East Hastings Street at Main Street
East Hastings Street at Renfrew Street
Grandview Highway at Rupert Street
Granville Street at West King Edward Avenue
Kingsway at Joyce Street
Kingsway at Victoria Drive
Knight Street at East 33rd Avenue
Oak Street at West 57th Avenue
Oak Street at West 70th Avenue
Southeast Marine Drive at Kerr Street
West Georgia Street at Cardero Street
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