Vancouver councillor proposes over 100 new speed cameras to stop pedestrian collisions

Vancouver Coun. Christine Boyle is putting forward a motion to install more than 100 speed and red light cameras at what she calls "dangerous" intersections in the city.

Boyle, who leads the OneCity municipal party, says there are over 151 such intersections in the city, and only 44 of them have speed cameras in place.

Boyle defined dangerous intersections as those where ICBC found 100 crashes involving an injury or death between 2018 and 2022, as well as those with 50 such crashes near a school.

Experts say that speed and red light cameras are one of the best deterrents for dangerous driving, with Boyle saying it fits with the City of Vancouver's Vision Zero mission to eliminate traffic deaths.

"The crash numbers and even the fatality numbers are incredibly heartbreaking," the councillor told CBC News.

"To see 18 Vancouver residents die from car crashes [in 2021] and thousands of accidents that result in people ending up in the hospital for minor or major injuries, it's a major public safety issue in Vancouver."

Dr. Michael Schwandt, a medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health, says speed is one of the most important factors in road safety.

He says vulnerable pedestrians are most likely to be fatally hit, with ICBC data showing 45 per cent of all fatalities in Vancouver were senior citizens.

"There's good evidence that intersection safety cameras, especially when they follow best practices, can help to improve driver behaviour," he said.

Schwandt said the placement of speed cameras should be driven by data, and they should be clearly visible to drivers for them to have an effect.

Julian Mentasti Meza, a volunteer with pedestrian safety group Vision Zero Vancouver, said most of the intersections that Boyle highlighted have a lot in common.

"In a lot of these intersections, we have either a lot of lanes or very wide lanes where cars are more likely to run a red light," he said. "They're going to try to do a right on red and not look out for pedestrians.

"These key intersections also happen to be areas where there happens to be a lot of people near those roads."

Boyle says her motion fits with the mandate of the ABC Vancouver majority on council, which came to power on a platform of public safety.

While B.C. municipalities do not have the ability to install speed cameras, Boyle's motion calls for the province to fund them — as well as for modified legislation to allow cities to install the technology themselves.

Boyle's motion is set to be heard at a Nov. 1 council meeting.