Municipalities hope Monday's election winner will rule on red-light cameras

Fredericton Coun. Stephen Case is hoping whichever party gets elected will amend the Motor Vehicle Act to allow municipalities to use red-light cameras. 

Chase has been pushing for the change and some political parties are taking notice, just days before the provincial election on Monday. 

"I would like to have seen it sooner but it's better late than never," said Chase.

The Liberals put out a release this week saying they would make the changes to allow the use of red-light cameras if elected, and Green Party leader David Coon said he would do the same.

• Fredericton looks for green light to install red light cameras 
• Red-light cameras find lots of Fredericton support, survey says 
• Fredericton police rolling out new devices to combat speeding

Chase and representatives of other municipalities met with then Liberal minister Denis Landry earlier in the year to push the change in legislation, which does not now allow the cameras. 

"He got a very strong round of endorsement from those municipalities to move forward in this, and I think that's the genesis of the platform announcement," said Chase. 

While the cameras have the support of the Green and Liberal parties, the NDP says it wouldn't support a change in the legislation.

"The NDP believes that red lights cameras are just another way to tax the working class," NDP Leader Jennifer McKenzie said in an emailed statement.

"The government should look at fairer types of taxation that won't affect the low and middle class." 

Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs said municipalities need more power to make these decisions but hasn't had the chance to look at the issue and wasn't able to give a yes or no. 

Camera benefits

The City of Fredericton has been pushing for intersection cameras since 2010. The cameras would take pictures showing the plates of any vehicles speeding through the intersection or running red lights, which Chase says is a problem in Fredericton. The owners would be ticketed accordingly.

"This would be an important step in improving public safety and reducing death and accident injury, and all of the costs that go along with accidents," Chase said.

Fredericton would follow the lead of Edmonton, where Chase said the city has been able to reduce accidents at busy intersections by 20 per cent. 

"A 20 per cent reduction could result in savings of up to $25 million a year," he said. 

"That's calculated on the cost of deaths, injury in the hospital system, health and social services, and property damage.

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