Photo radar coming back to Edmonton intersection

Photoradar is coming back to Edmonton, but not in a big way. Remember when the province started cracking down on Photoradar two years ago? The government had a goal of scrapping 70% of Photoradar locations, calling the tool a government cash cow. Speed on green cameras were since banned, but the rules allow municipalities to ask the government for exemptions at high collision areas. That's what the city of Edmonton did last year. They asked to bring back cameras at eight locations. Nearly a year later, the government has approved one at 97th Street and 167th Avenue, rejected four others, and has yet to decide on the remaining three. The city says all of the locations met provincial criteria for cameras. Some had thousands of speed violations each year. Take 91st Street in South Edmonton for example. There were 47 collisions at 91st Street and 34th Avenue in 2023 and 56 collisions at 91st Street and 23rd Avenue each year in 2023 and 2024. The city says since the crackdown on photo radar, speeding is up citywide. There were increases recorded last year at 82% of the city's monitored intersections. Mayor Andrew Knack says he brought up this issue with Premier Danielle Smith earlier this week. He says he wants the province to make evidence-based decisions. Of course, in the city of Edmonton, we have been regularly working with partners like the U of A who have done independent studies that have shown over and over again that the inclusion of photo radar has helped to improve safety on our streets. And I think we're seeing that through, sadly, the loss of more lives when you remove tools for enforcement. More people are going to try to break the rules and that is causing real harm on our streets. In a statement, Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen said the province will continue to work with municipalities to improve traffic safety rules and enforcement. Madeline Cummings, CBC News, Edmonton.