Anti-photo radar petition shows no signs of slowing down

More than 12,000 people want the brakes put on the citys photo radar program, according to an online petition.

Patrick Dyas posted the petition five days ago, after reading peoples complaints on Facebook about getting unfair tickets.

I thought, maybe if someone did something about it, something would happen, he said.

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The programs massive cost overruns convinced him photo radar was bad for the city. Last month councillors learned the program cost $46.9million more than expected when the city took over management from a private company. The cost was covered by the revenues from tickets.

Its eight times over budget and nobody seems to care, Dyas said.

The main thing for me is our taxpayer money and where its going.

Hes hoping the thousands of signatures are enough to stop the speed traps. But Coun. Bryan Anderson said Thursday he doesnt think that will happen.

With the results that weve experienced in terms of the drop in major accidents and traffic death numbers, perhaps that is sufficient to justify it, Anderson said.

He said he wants to see the program improved, and speed limits adjusted to better match the flow of traffic on some roads.

He suspects many of the petitioners are people who have received speeding tickets, and said many more signatures would be needed to change his mind about photo radar.