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Home My WebLink AboutDSD-20-104 - Automated Speed Enforcement - Regional Agreement and Program LaunchREPORT TO:Community and Infrastructure Services Committee DATE OF MEETING:September 28, 2020 SUBMITTED BY: Barry Cronkite, Director, Transportation Services 519-741-2200, ext. 7738 PREPARED BY:Faranak Hosseini, Transportation Planning Project Manager 519-741-2200, ext. 7665 Ivan J. Balaban, Traffic Technologist 519-741-2200, ext. 7302 WARD (S) INVOLVED: All Wards (1-10) DATE OF REPORT:September 17, 2020 REPORT NO.:DSD-20-104 SUBJECT: Automated Speed Enforcement – Regional Agreement and Program Launch ___________________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATIONS That the Director of Transportation Services be authorized to execute all necessary agreements, renewals, and other such documentation with the Region of Waterloo for the administration and operation of Automated Speed Enforcement on City roads; said documentation to be to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor, and; That Franklin Public School be approved as the priority location for automated speed enforcement; and further; That the school zones outlined in Appendix A be approved and added to Schedule 19 of the Uniform Traffic Control By-law. *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. 5 - 1 BACKGROUND The Highway Traffic Act was amended in 2019 to permit municipalities to use Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE)with the objective of improving road safety. The legislative amendment allows municipalities to enact by-laws to permit the use of Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) exclusively in school zones and community safety zones. The intent of ASE isto improve road safety in school zones and community safety zones through increasedcompliance with posted speed limits. Reducingoperating speeds hasproven to have a direct positive impact on the likelihood and severity of collisions. In tandem with other strategies including education and engineering methods, thelong-termobjectiveof ASEis to influence driverbehaviour and improve road safety for all users. An ASE system automatically measures vehicle speeds at a specific point alonga roadway using a camera based radar system. Enforcement is accomplished through the issuance of an offense abovethe posted speed limit issued to the owner of the vehicle license plate number.A ticket will be issued if a vehicle is detected travelling greater than a set speed above the posted speed limit. The registered owner of the vehicle will receive the ticket regardless of who was driving. An ASE Steering Committee chaired by the OntarioTraffic Council has taken a province-wide approach towards the implementation of the ASE system. In Ontario, the cities of Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, London, Regions of Waterloo, York, Durham and Peel are planning to launch the ASE program. Recently the City of Toronto has implemented this system on 50 locations near schools and community safety zones as of July 6, 2020. REPORT This report describes theproposed operatingand implementation plan of the ASE program. Proposed ASE Operation Model The Region of Waterloo, area municipalities and Waterloo Regional Police Services agreethat TheRegion should administer ASE on regional and municipal roads on behalf of area municipalities subject to local Council approval. Of primary consideration is that a provincial offences court is required for the processing of all ASE related infractions. The local Provincial Offences Court office falls under the jurisdiction of the Region of Waterloo and therefore area municipalities are limited in their ability to establish a standalone ASE program. Additionally, a Region wide ASE programensuresconsistent implementation throughout the Region of Waterloo. Based on this operating model, The Region would be responsible for all implementation and maintenance costs of the selected sites within the City of Kitchener. However, this also requires that all revenue from the ASEsystem will be retained by the Regionto account for capital and operating costs. The selected implementation model involves a semi-fixed camera system installation. A semi-fixed installation enables the device to be rotated among several ASE sites. TheASE sites will be pre-determined and the device will berotated among these sites on a quarterly basis. 2 *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. 5 - 2 The ASEplaninitiallyconsisted of 32 sites within the Region (foursites per municipality/township and fourallocated to the Region of Waterloo itself) using the semi-fixed approach, however due to financial constraints, the phase 1 launch was reduced to a total of eight sites (one site per municipality). This phased approach will allow for monitoring of offence volumes andassociated resource requirementsbefore expanding the program. Anticipated ASE Benefits In alignment with other City of Kitchener road safety initiatives, staff expect the following benefits for the City as a result of the ASE system: Improved speed compliance withinthe highest priority school zone(s) selected for ASE Increased comfort and safety forwalking and active transportationwithin school zones; No initial capital or annual operatingcost to the City. According to the Highway Safety Manual, the use ofASE has proven to reduce fatal, serious, minor and possible injury collisions. Some related examples are as follows: Quebec, Canada: ASE program reduced average speeds by 13.3 km/h and reduced collisions by 15% to 40% at ASE sites. Saskatchewan, Canada: ASE program reduced average speeds by 17% and reduced collisions by 63% at ASE sites. Site Selection Criteria and Proposed Sites Speeddata collected within school zones wasprimarilyused to prioritize the selected sites. th Schools that have an 85percentile speed of 10 km/h or more above the posted speed limit were added to the School Zone ASE Priority Ranking List. Of the City’s 71 schools, there are 17 schools that met this criterion.The School Zone ASE Priority Ranking Listincludesthe top 17 priority locations and is provided in Appendix B. Six of the 17 priority locations are already listed in the Uniform Traffic Control Bylaw Schedule 19 (Rate of Speed).The remaining 11 locations (as shown in Appendix A)should also be specifically listed in Schedule 19 for future phases of the ASE program.Specifically listing ASE locations in the Traffic Control Bylaw will help prevent ambiguity if ASE related offences are challenged. The School Zone ASE Priority Ranking listis data-driven andwill continue to be updated as new data becomes available. Once the Region moves to future phases of the ASE program, staff will use the most up to dateversion of the School Zone ASE Priority Ranking List to select future locationsand update Council accordingly. Currently the top five locations are as follows: 3 *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. 5 - 3 85th Deviation Posted Adjacent Percentile from Priority # School NameSpeed RoadwaySpeedPostedRank (km/h) (km/h)(km/h) 40 62221 1Franklin Public SchoolFranklin St N 40 60202 2Westheights Public SchoolWestheights Dr 40 5717 3Lackner Woods Public SchoolZeller Dr 3 40 5717 4St. Anne -Kitchener (EDC, FI)East Ave 40 54144 5St. John's (EDC)Strange St Legal Agreement In orderfor the Region of Waterlooto operate the ASE programon the City of Kitchener’s behalf, a legally binding agreement is required.Based on this agreement, the Region’s responsibilities will include, but not be limited to, entering into all the agreements with the various parties on the City’s behalf, paying all fees associated with the program, working with the ASE technology vendor, the City of Toronto and the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) to set up the ASE sites, and reporting to MTO on numbers, collision reduction benefits, etc. The City’s Legal solicitorswill review this agreement and amend as necessarybefore being signed by the Director ofTransportation Planning. In order to administer and operate the ASE program,the Region is also in the process of entering into agreements with a number of agencies including MTO,Redflex Traffic Systems (Canada) Limited, and the City of Toronto. This is to facilitate the access to license plate registry, equipment supply, installation of equipment, and cost-share for the ticket processingcentre.The Region has commenced the work on these agreements and is planning to complete the agreements as soon as possible after Regional Council approval. Public Communication and Education The Region will be leading the public communication and education efforts related to the ASE programand will be the single point of contact for public questions and feedback.The Region willpost on-street signs at the selected ASE locations three months in advance of enforcement to notify drivers about the program well in advance of the enforcement coming into effect at the selected locations. In addition to this, Regional staff are planningtoprovide more information on ASE on the Region’s website, whichthe City of Kitchener will provide a link to. The Ontario Traffic Council (OTC) has also developed a website that provides further information on the ASE program which can be found at aseontario.com. City staff will prepare key messages about the program to use as a reference in public communications. This information will also be posted on the City of Kitchener website with references to The Region’s and OTC’s content.Residents will be directed to the Region of Waterloo as the single point of contact for additional informationand further discussion. 4 *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. 5 - 4 Timelines and Next Steps If approved by City of Kitchener Council, staff will finalize the legal agreement with the Region. The Region expects that the negotiation and execution of the legal agreements with the related agencies (area municipalities, City of Toronto, MTO, etc) to be completed by the end of 2020. However, due to the sensitivity related to the timing of the launch during the COVID-19 pandemic, Regional staff is planning tomonitor the COVID-19 situationand launch ASE in line with the provincial back to school policy and the Region’s court system capacity. Based on timing required forthese actions, ASE is anticipated to be operational in early 2021. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN This project aligns with strategic priority 3 (Safe and Thriving Neighbourhoods), strategy 3.2 (Create safer streets in our neighbourhoods through new traffic calming approaches), strategic action NB38 (traffic calming) of the City of Kitchener’s Strategic Plan. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS The Region of Waterloo will install, administer and maintain the ASE program with no financial implications to the City of Kitchener. All revenue from this program will be retained by the Region of Waterlooto fund the program. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONSULT – The City has conducted surveys to gauge public support for lower speed limits in neighbourhoods. The support for this type of initiative has generally been positive. INFORM – This report has been posted to the City’s website with the agenda in advance of the council / committee meeting. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Justin Readman, General ManagerDevelopment Services Department Attached: Appendix A – School Zone Rate of Speed Schedule Appendix B – School Zone ASE PriorityRankingList 5 *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. 5 - 5 Appendix A – School Zone Rate of Speed Schedule SCHOOLHIGHWAYFROMTOMAXIMUM SPEED W.T. Townshend Activa AvenueBerry Moss StreetCopper Leaf Street40 km/h PS St. Anne KitchenerEast AvenueGlendale RoadStirling Avenue 40 km/h North Meadowlane PSForestwood DriveEast intersection McGarry Drive40 km/h of Glen Park Crescent Franklin PSFranklin Street Bradley DriveDalewood Drive40 km/h North St. Mary’s HSLennox Lewis Block Line RoadArdelt Avenue40 km/h Way Mackenzie King Natchez RoadCarson DriveA point 60 metres 40 km/h PSeast of Matthew Street J.F. CarmichaelPatricia AvenueHighland Road Spadina Road West40 km/h West Blessed The Country WayErinbrook DriveSpring Hill Place40 km/h Sacrament St. Dominic SavioWestforest TrailTrelawney StreetVictoria Street South40 km/h Westheights PSWestheights North intersection East intersection of 40 km/h Driveof Winding WayAutumn Hill Cres Wilson Ave PSWilson AvenueNinth AvenueFifth Avenue40 km/h 6 *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. 5 - 6 Appendix B – School Zone ASE Priority Ranking List 85th Deviation Posted Adjacent Percentile from # School NameSpeedRank RoadwaySpeedPosted (km/h) (km/h)(km/h) 40 62221 1Franklin Public SchoolFranklin St N 40 60202 2Westheights Public SchoolWestheights Dr 40 5717 3Lackner Woods Public SchoolZeller Dr 3 St. Anne -Kitchener (EDC, 40 5717 4FI)East Ave 40 54144 5St. John's (EDC)Strange St 40 5313 6J W Gerth Public SchoolApple Ridge Dr 5 Mackenzie King Public 40 5313 7SchoolNatchez Rd The Country 40 5212 8Blessed Sacrament (EDC)Way 6 40 5212 9Saint John Paul IIPebblecreek Dr 40 5111 10St. Paul (EDC)Birchcliff Ave 7 W T Townshend Public 40 5111 11SchoolActiva Ave 40 5010 12J F Carmichael Public SchoolPatricia Ave 40 5010 13Meadowlane Public SchoolForestwood Dr 40 5010 14St. Dominic Savio (EDC)Westforest Trail 8 40 5010 15St. Kateri TekakwithaPioneer Dr Lennox Lewis 50 6010 16St. Mary's High SchoolWay 40 5010 17Wilson Avenue Public SchoolWilson Ave 7 *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. 5 - 7