JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West
Transports Quebec’s plan to install photo radar detectors by 2026 in municipalities that request them has piqued the interest of some West Island mayors.
“There’s no doubt that speeding and respecting the stop signs is a major issue with many municipalities in the West Island,” said Beaconsfield Mayor Georges Bourelle in an interview. “We have been looking to use photo radar for quite a while.”
In August 2023, the Quebec government introduced its Plan d’action en sécurité routière 2023-2028. Part of the plan includes a new strategy focusing on the implementation of hundreds of fixed photo radar detectors across the province. Municipalities will have the chance to make an official request to have them installed within their boundaries.
But earlier this fall, Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante criticized the plan, saying the city would need 300 photo radar detection devices installed to regulate traffic, a number that exceeds the 250 units the Quebec government aims to purchase for the entire province.
Plante also chastised provincial Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault for taking too long to roll out the devices.
The photo radar units automatically take pictures of the licence plates of speeding vehicles, and of vehicles that fail to stop at red lights, automatically issuing a fine to the vehicle owner.
Dorval Mayor Marc Doret said that while it is too early for concrete discussions about installing these radars, he would be potentially interested should Transports Quebec allow municipalities increased control over these devices, including allowing them to be moved different locations, depending on need.
“It would be a benefit (if) we could deploy them on our territory in problematic areas,” Doret said. “Anything that helps us combat (traffic violations) is a good opportunity.”
Transport Quebec currently has 11 photo radars installed on the Island of Montreal, none of which are located in the West Island.
The first photo radars were introduced in the province in 2009. According to data provided in the government’s action plan, the percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit fell from 59 per cent to 13 per cent on roads with these photo radars, while the average driving speed was reduced by 11 kilometres and hour, and the number of accidents that caused bodily injury fell by 41 per cent.
In terms of location for these devices, Doret said school zones “would be a prime place to put a photo radar.”
Bourelle suggested that a photo radar on St. Charles Boulevard in Beaconsfield would be optimal for preventing dangerous driving. Indeed, several fatal car crashes have occurred on or approaching the north-south artery in recent years, caused by what some believe to be drag racing.
“We know that the SPVM cannot be there 24/7,” Bourelle said.
He is certain that there would be pushback from some residents about the installation of these devices in Beaconsfield and other West Island municipalities.
“My answer to that is don’t speed,” Bourelle said. “Respect the laws and respect the code of the road.”
It is still too early to determine how many photo radars could be installed in the West Island, Transports Quebec media relations officer Gilles Payer told The 1510 West.
“The deployment of new devices is in the planning stage,” Payer wrote in an email. He explained that the government will open an international call for tenders to produce the devices, followed by a provincial call for proposals by municipalities for potential installation sites by 2025.
The first of these photo radars are expected to come into service by 2026.