Most people in BC actually like photo radar, says a new poll by a private research firm.
According to numbers from Vancouver’s Research Co, two out of three people support mobile speed cameras similar to the unpopular photo radar program scrapped in 2001.
The main differences between the hated “photo radar” program from two decades ago and today’s “intersection safety cameras” are the name, and the level of technology. While people hated the idea of contractors in unmarked vans snapping pictures of licence plates, they are mostly OK with the idea of mobile automated cameras snapping pictures and uploading them to a system that issues tickets automatically.
The same number of people also supports lowering speed limits in residential areas to 30 kilometres per hour. More than 40% of people polled said they see a speeding car in their neighbourhood at least once daily.
Support was even higher for fixed cameras at intersections to catch both speeders and red light runners, at 73%. There is one such camera on the Island in Nanaimo, at Aulds Road.
There is one other red light camera in Nanaimo, one in Courtenay, one in Duncan, one in Saanich, and one in Victoria. The rest of BC’s 140 cameras are mostly in the Lower Mainland.
The poll interviewed 800 adults around the province.
Visit the province’s website to see where all cameras in BC are located.
