As we continue to expose the benefits of longer Amber Times (Increased Safety, Decreased Tickets), we continue to be amazed at the resolve of Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz and Councilors such as Nordman, Sharma, Gerbassi and Vandal to hide their heads in the sand and pretend this data doesn’t exist and that it wouldn’t work here. Instead the only logic they seem to understand is that presented to them by their “Paid Traffic Engineer” who of course is completely unbiased and in fact is quoted as saying in the committee meeting on his report that “Winnipeg does not appear to have a red light running problem”
This was followed by a question from Councilor Vandal asking, “Well why do we have Red Light Cameras Then?” Without skipping a beat the other “Paid Expert” chimed in, that although it would not be considered an epidemic, there are violations occurring and the cameras were brought in as a method of “Behavior Modification” for motorists.
Which leads me to scratch my head and wonder why so many intersections in the City are still generating thousands of tickets every year with no real modification in numbers? Intersections the like of Route 90/Corydon and Grant/Wilton, that are great money makers for the City. Year after year the numbers are consistent at them so there is no behavior change which should make the “Paid Experts” at the City ponder if there may be a better approach because the cameras are obviously not working.
