Whereas the City of New Westminster adopted Safe Movement of People as a strategic priority for 2022-2026 and has committed to advance a Vision Zero mindset across the city which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries; And whereas the Government of BCs Road Safety BC website states that: 1 Most crashes in British Columbia happen at intersections. To reduce injuries and save lives, BC installs intersection safety cameras sometimes called red light cameras at intersections where crashes occur frequently. Warning signs let drivers know the intersection has cameras. 2 The cameras are proven to be effective at reducing side-impact, head-on and pedestrian crashes, and are located where red light running and high speed cause serious crashes.; And whereas the City of New Westminster has been working towards improving road safety through a variety of initiatives and infrastructure improvements, limited by capital budget funding and staff resources while the use of speed and red light cameras can be quickly implemented; And whereas secondary benefits would include directing the revenue from these cameras toward road safety initiatives across the community and complementing the work of traditional police enforcement, enabling police officers to focus on other critical and time-sensitive tasks: Therefore be it resolved that LMLGA and UBCM call on the provincial government to expand the implementation of speed and red light intersection safety cameras in local governments across BC, prioritizing intersections near schools and those with a high rate of crashes that result in injuries or fatalities as identified by ICBC, and that the provincial government provide all revenue from additional speed and red light cameras to local governments as grants to be invested in implementing local and safety improvements; And be it further resolved that the UBCM request that the provincial government allow BC local governments to install speed and red light cameras at their own cost and set and collect fees directly to be earmarked for road safety improvements.
