Council approves streamlined process to fight red light, photo radar tickets

Toronto City Council has unanimously approved a streamlined method for drivers to fight tickets they receive from photo radar and red light cameras across the city.

Council voted 26-0 in favour of using the same administrative system currently employed to process parking ticket disputes and fines, moving the cases out of the already-clogged courts.

A report endorsing the new system says it will not only increase dispute resolution but allow for “more efficient use of limited court time in provincial courts.” University-Rosedale councillor Dianne Saxe, who has a background in law, agreed.

Recalling her time as a prosecutor in the court system, Saxe said fighting tickets for traffic offences like speeding or running a red light is an “incredibly wasteful procedure.”

“It’s incredibly wasteful of police time, incredibly wasteful of the public’s time. It’s a very, very expensive, super expensive process and it’s completely unsuited to these kind of things like running a red light or just going too fast,” she argued.

The report also states that upgrading to the new administrative system will be necessary if the city follows through with its plan to double the number of photo radar cameras across the city from 75 to 150.

Revenue from the increase in the number of tickets issued was expected to be $70 million in 2023 and is slated to climb to $121 million by 2026.

Council has yet to confirm the increase in cameras.

But Wednesday’s discussion about the new administrative process for fighting tickets sparked a debate about the proposed expansion, with Etobicoke Centre councillor Stephen Holyday, striking a cautious tone.

“If we get into a place where the public feels like we are grabbing cash instead of trying to increase safety on the road, we’ve got a problem,” he argued.

“It starts to feel like there’s a camera on every other street and I don’t think that is going to delight the public, I think it’s going to be a situation of ‘government is watching me.'”

Don Valley North councillor Shelley Carroll said moving the system out of the courts is a no-brainer that would let police focus on more important matters.

“What we have here is technology doing work that our police officers really don’t have time to do,” she said. “Is it a slippery slope? Well if we are on a slippery slope that is fast taking us to safe driving where no one dies, that’s a slope that I’m happy to get on. If it makes money in the process, that’s gravy.”

Eglinton-Lawrence counillor Mike Colle also argued that the benefits of more cameras outweigh the drawbacks, even though he admitted to getting hit with a fine.

“You can’t have too much safety in our city,” he said. “This type of technology is now available throughout the world because it is proven to save people from serious accidents and death and it’s effective.”

“‏I have to admit I received a red light camera ticket in my own ward … so just be careful don’t run the lights you may get a ticket.”

The city hopes to have the new system up and running by Nov. 1, 2024.