City hall to decide on $28M payment to cover loss of photo radar

City council is set to debate a proposed motion that could help the Calgary Police Service with its $28-million budget shortfall. Mason DePatie reports.

Calgary city council will be discussing options on how to make up for a big budget shortfall with the Calgary Police Service after the province changed its rules regarding photo radar.

One of those ideas, brought about from a motion by Couns. Sonya Sharp, Jennifer Wyness and Terry Wong, is a one-time $28-million payment to fill the hole.

According to the motion, the money would come from Calgary’s fiscal stability reserve fund.

“Without an alternate source of funding, the Calgary Police Service will need to reduce expenditures, which will result in service impacts,” it said.

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Last December, the provincial government shut down 70 per cent of photo radar sites in Alberta communities after suggesting they were “cash cows” – making money for municipalities over prioritizing road safety.

Law enforcement agencies disagreed with the United Conservative government’s assertions.

“We will see an increase in serious injury and fatal collisions on our roadways,” said Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld after the announcement was made.

In addition to the funding, the motion also includes a recommendation to replace the CPS’ fine revenue with base budget funding.

“Photo radar is a tool that can be deployed along a wide range of road types but is particularly important in higher speed environments where in-person speed enforcement by police officers is unsafe or impractical and traffic calming is not suitable,” the motion said.

Traffic calming refers to different strategies employed by the CPS to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.

The city says the measures are designed to make streets safer and “more pleasant” for all users.

The motion says if steps are not taken, the public safety of Calgarians could be at risk.

Last week, Neufeld said photo radar could return to Calgary streets, but only in specific areas deemed a “high risk” for collisions.

He is still waiting for input on the province on the matter but has been told municipalities need to apply for exemptions for those high collision areas.

Starting April 1, photo radar is only allowed in school, playground and construction zones in Alberta.