Written By PAULA BROWN

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

The Town of Shelburne is attempting to set the record straight on automated speed enforcement (ASE) ticketing.

During their meeting on Monday (Oct. 6), Council discussed the automated speed enforcement (ASE) and touched on misinformation surrounding ticketing.

“We all keep hearing of these incidents where community members are saying ‘I got a ticket at one, two, three, four, five, six [kilometres over the speed limit]'. We repeatedly ask for a copy of that ticket to then find out there is not truth in that commentary,” said Denyse Morrissey, chief administrative officer for the Town of Shelburne.

Morrissey added that many residents are unaware that the speed limit within the Town of Shelburne is no longer 50 kilometres per hour.

In 2021, the majority of streets in Shelburne were designated as community safety zones, and Shelburne Town Council approved and passed a motion to reduce the speed limit in town, with the exception of connecting link roadways, to 40 km/h. 

In 2024, Council reduced the speed limit on its connecting link roadways from 50 km/h to 40 km/h.

The Town of Shelburne's automated speed enforcement program went live on Sept. 5.

Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) is a traffic calming program that captures an image of a vehicle when it exceeds the posted speed limit in a designated area. The image is reviewed by a provincial offences officer, who then issues a ticket to the registered owner of the vehicle. 

Through the ASE program, the Town of Shelburne has installed a total of 10 cameras, which have been placed in both directions on five streets within the town.

The locations of the automated speed enforcement cameras include: Greenwood Street, from Rintoul Crescent to Robert Street; Main Street, spanning Simon Street to Jelly Street; Owen Sound Street, stretching from Second Avenue West to O'Flynn Street; Victoria Street, from Franklyn Street to Andrew Street; and William Street, running from First Avenue East to O'Flynn Street.

“We're not really sure where these communities supposedly are ticketing you with one over, maybe they'll be found, but I'm pretty sure that it might be the same scenario,” said Morrissey.

Shelburne Town Council is expected to receive a report on the ASE program at their next meeting.