The City of Barrie says its new speed cameras will be heading to a pair of south-end locations next month.
In February, the cameras — officially known as 'automated speed enforcement,' or the ASE program — will located on northbound Essa Road, near Timothy Christian School, and westbound on Ardagh Road, near Patterson Road in the vicinity of Heritage Baptist Church.
The city's speed cameras have been in effect for over a month to help improve the safety of Barrie’s neighbourhoods by discouraging speeding in designated community safety zones.
The current camera locations are eastbound on Big Bay Point Road, near Willow Landing and Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic elementary schools, and southbound on Anne Street North, near Portage View Public School and Nouvelle-Alliance secondary school.
The city says residents may notice some different signs in place in community safety zones where speed cameras are present. Along with a 'Municipal Speed Camera in Use' sign, there is also a sign indicating how the speed limit can differ depending on the time of year, the day, and time of day — related to times when children are travelling to and from schools.
The flashing lights to warn of a 40-km/h zone have been replaced because the city says the provincial government doesn’t permit both flashing lights and speed limits that vary to be posted at the same time.
"A static speed limit sign allows a provincial offences officer to be confident that the accurate speed limit was posted to advise drivers of the maximum speed," according to a city release. "It also ensures that any tickets issued meet the requirements under the ASE regulation of the Highway Traffic Act, which is required to operate the ASE program."
The cameras are programmable and determine what speed zone is applicable at the correct time of the day, says the city. Once the speed cameras are moved to another location in Barrie, the flashing lights will be back in activation.
If your vehicle is captured by the camera as going over the posted speed limit, the ticketing process is as follows:
- The speed camera captures an image that is stored and reviewed by a provincial offences officer.
- The ticket is mailed to the registered plate holder at the address on file with the Province of Ontario.
- You will receive a ticket within 30 days after the violation occurs.
Fines are based on how much the driver was exceeding the speed limit, in accordance with the Highway Traffic Act. Fines are doubled in community safety zones, even if the violation occurs outside school hours.
More information can be found at barrie.ca/traffic, or in this video.
