City of Thunder Bay to consult public before red light camera decision

The City of Thunder Bay will consult with the public before making a final decision on installing red light cameras at some intersections.

A resolution recommending Thunder Bay City Council approve the installation of the cameras which are integrated into traffic lights and aredesigned to capture images of vehicles running a red light was tabled at Monday's meeting.

However, instead of moving forward, council voted to send the matter back to administration for a report, said Kayla Dixon, the city's director of engineering.

"We will be likely putting out a survey for residents to respond to, as well as have information available at councillor ward meetings, for people to provide some feedback to their councillors," Dixon said. "And we will be bringing a report back to council in June to provide the results of the feedback, and see if council will move forward with that recommendation."

Dixon said there is a bit of a time constraint in terms of the final decision. The city must send a letter to the Ministry of Transportation by July if it intends to join the red light camera program in 2022.

That's when the next five-year contract with the vendor of the cameras is set to begin.

"There is a single vendor for the province that maintains and installs all of the cameras," Dixon said, adding the five-year term gives the vendor enough time to recoup their costs for the equipment.

A report to council shows the red light cameras are proven toreduceright angle, or T-bone, collisions at intersections the cameras are installed at by 15 per cent.

If the city goes ahead with the project, the cameras would be installed at 10 to-be-determined intersections in Thunder Bay.

The total cost to operate and maintain all 10 cameras is estimated at $875,000 per year,but other municipalities in Ontario that have the cameras have recouped their operating costs through fine revenue.

Input sought on traffic light removals

Also Monday, council voted to move forward with removing traffic lights from two Thunder Bay intersections.

The lights to be removed are at the intersections of Frederica and Brown streets, and Donald and Vickers streets, replacing them with four-way stop signs, Dixon said.

Dixon said the two intersections aren't meeting standards required to maintain them as light-controlled intersections.The standards include traffic volume, the number of collisions, and pedestrian usage.

"Now we'll go out with a public notice to notify the public those lights are being considered for removal, and will address any concerns that come back," Dixon said.

A report on the lights, with a recommendation on whether to proceed with removing them or not, is due back before council in May.

If council votes to continue with removing the lights, the work would be done over the summer, Dixon said.