| Community Safe Zones | The Toronto Star Wheels - 07/27/02 | |
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It sounds like a great idea: establishing special traffic enforcement areas called “Community Safety Zones” which would extend extra protection to areas of a city where traffic safety is a special concern. To emphasize the need for safe driving and deter future violations, fines for traffic offences committed within these specially designated sections of roadway would be increased, in some cases even doubled.
Not meant as permanent fixtures, ideally these community safety zones would be removed once sustained changes to driver behaviour had been observed. With the altruistic goal of improved road safety in mind, the High Traffic Act was amended in 1998 to allow Community Safety Zones (CSZs) in Ontario municipalities. Subsequently, from Thunder Bay to Toronto, many cities across Ontario initiated pilot programs and installed CSZs in areas of their city where traffic infractions were a chronic problem, or there was a high safety risk for pedestrians. Generally the zones were set up along sections of roadway that encompassed community centers, schools, and recreation or retirement facilities. Safety studies, statistical evidence, input from the community and the failure of other traffic enforcement tactics, all influenced where the CSZs were installed. Road signs were erected at the beginning and end of the zones, as well as every 300 metres if the zone was longer than one kilometer. Most municipalities set up the CSZs as a pilot project scheduled to last six months to a year and many have since done studies to evaluate their effectiveness. While some showed marginal reductions in speeding offences, a surprising number of cities found there had been no significant impact on driving behaviour, or that their results were inconclusive. Last November staff at the City of Hamilton recommended to Hamilton City Council that the city not implement a community safety zone. Their recommendation was based on a consultant’s report, which had been commissioned to review all available material on Ontario municipalities who use CSZs. That report concluded; “…that CSZs are ineffective at changing travel speeds, or improving safety.” The author of the report, Gerry Forbes of Intus Road Safety Engineering Inc., explains that merely labeling an area a community safety zone will not have any effect. Rather, there must be consistent enforcement of traffic laws to make an impression on drivers. "The enforcement makes it effective. There has to be the threat of enforcement for there to be some change in behaviour," says Forbes. Back in May of 1998, when the CSZ bill was first introduced in the House, Timiskaming MPP David Ramsay stated: "It’s fine to double the fines, but if the police departments don’t have the wherewithal and the tools to bring on the enforcement, regardless of whatever the fines are, they are going to have no effect on safety." Unfortunately, due to budget and time constraints, police enforcement and patrols of CSZs in many municipalities have been somewhat limited. This inability of police to dedicate consistent manpower to CSZs has also made it more difficult to gather the rather complex statistical data required to properly evaluate the program. Other concerns include the fact that since traffic offences in CSZs result in higher fines but no increases in demerit points, ($380 for failing to stop for a red light in a CSZ compared to the usual $190), with no proof of their effectiveness there is a fear that CSZs could be perceived by motorists as merely being a revenue grab by the city. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that court costs have increased somewhat, as drivers contest the expensive tickets in court, hoping for an often-granted reduction in fines. Signage is also an issue as the actual signs used to mark the zones are fairly inconspicuous and are sometimes lost in a sea of other roadside clutter. Yet despite these problems and the seemingly negligible benefits of community safety zones, many cities have elected to extend their pilot projects and keep the zones in place. The City of Toronto continues to maintain it’s twelve CSZs, although they have thus far not proven to be a significant deterrent to illegal driving behaviour. Citing a report submitted to Toronto City Council in 2000, Andre Filippetti Manager of Traffic Operations for Scarborough explains that more time was required to derive a more meaningful assessment of the potential collision trends. It was also felt that the effectiveness of CSZ could be enhanced with public education. “In the past, the Province had indicated they would initiate a public education campaign to promote this regulation. To date, this has not occurred. Our report formally requests that the province initiate this campaign and states that we would also conduct a similar campaign more specifically tailored to the City’s needs,” says Filippetti. The provincial government has not conducted any educational campaigns; rather it’s been left up to each individual municipality to promote their own CSZs. Many municipalities, including Ottawa, Mississauga and Toronto, do carry some information about CSZs on their city websites or that of the local police department. Many municipalities seem reluctant to totally do away with community safety zones, perhaps believing that with the correct application they will prove to be an effective solution for the local road safety problems. Even after considering their consultant’s negative recommendations, the Hamilton City Council still voted to establish a sub-committee of city councillors to review the matter further. Councillor Frank D’Amico, chair of that sub-committee explains: “Our constituents are concerned about safety issues in our neigbourhoods, especially as it relates to schools and parks. So our sense is, if we can do some incremental changes to the community safety zones that don’t cost a lot but change the outlook of safety in our community, then that’s worthwhile.” |