Council approves motion to cost speed enforcement cameras

Written By Paula Brown

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Shelburne Town Council has asked staff to look into the costs of purchasing automated speed enforcement cameras to help with speeding and traffic issues in the community. 

During their meeting on July 10, council approved a motion brought forward by Councillor Walter Benotto to have staff investigate the costs of purchasing automated speed enforcement cameras for speed and traffic control in community safety and school zones. 

The motion was first introduced by Benotto at Council's regular meeting on June 26. Benotto has raised concerns about speeding within the town specifically in the areas of Greenwood Street, Fiddle Park Lane and Williams Street, to council a number of times in the past. 

“We have a lot of bypass roads within this community, where speeding and going through stop signs happen, and some of them are in community safety zones and school zones. We are allowed to put these cameras in these areas,” said Benotto. “I have a lot of residents on these bypass roads that have approached me asking why we couldn't do it…it works within communities; it does stop speeding especially if you put up the signage.” 

Denyse Morrissey, chief administrative officer, told Council at the June 26 meeting that the estimated costs for a permanent camera is $27,000 and for a portable camera the cost range is between $32,000 to $35,000 plus a data fee of $8,000. 

“I've got a good feeling that those cameras will pay for themselves,” said Benotto. 

At the July 10 meeting, Morrissey noted the cost of the cameras and what the recovery of those costs would mean. 

“I want to be clear that while there is certainly cost recoverable, in the event that you do your job and eliminate speeding there's no revenue, which is a good thing.”

She later added, “other municipalities are doing more than cost recovery, but it also means then you've got a serious speeding issue too. You want it to actually become obsolete and no longer in existence. If your goal is to make money then you're celebrating speeding.” 

Coun. Kyle Fegan shared his support for the motion. 

“I fully agree with this. I think that everybody at this table would agree that speeding is certainly an issue that we have in the town. I would like to see what the costs are for these cameras and if it's within the budget we put forward. I think it's certainly a viable option and an effective one in other communities,” said Fegan.  

Coun. Dan Sample asked for staff to bring back data from the existing radar speed signs located in the town to provide further information on traffic trends on the streets deemed high priority. 

“Sometimes there's a perception of speeding which there's no indication based on the data that there is. There certainly may be one or two, but the majority when looked at aren't as catastrophic or prevalent as people assume,” noted Morrissey.

Council has also asked to have a meeting with a company to educate councillors on the system and options available. 

A formal presentation will comeback to council regarding the potential costs and revenue of the automated speed enforcement cameras ahead of the 2024 draft budget.