Speeding fine hike sought by city council

[schocker]

Story from last week and continuing to this week. How do we feel about the $89 fine for up to 15km/h over? City council is pushing the provincial government to double the fine.

Maybe the penalty on highways should be lowered

I know stephen harper is to blame and damn capitalism and those wall street fatcats

The City of Calgary has decided to ask the province to increase the fines for speeding in residential areas.

The penalty for speeding on a street is the same as on a highway.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi says it’s time to have a broad discussion about the particular problem of speeding in residential zones.

“You know, going 15 km over on a highway is way different than going 15 km over the limit in a playground zone in terms of the damage that you can cause,” he said.

The mayor will send a letter to Alberta’s justice minister requesting an amendment to the Traffic Safety Act adding tougher fines against residential speeders.

Coun. Andre Chabot told council he’s most concerned about speeding in school and playground zones. Consolidating the zones might improve safety, he said.

Michele Kavanagh, who lives in the northwest, says she supports the idea of stiffer fines for residential speeders.

“So many accidents, so many speeders … people are so, I don't know, they're impatient, you know,” she said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...ncil-1.2641088

[nzwasp]

Pootman in ward six is pushing this forward. I dont think changing the fine is going to do a damn difference in my area because you never see a cop enforcing any speeding around there. He should give up trying to change the fine and spend his time fixing the lights on 17th ave sw where the train is screwing it up.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by schocker
“You know, going 15 km over on a highway is way different than going 15 km over the limit in a playground zone in terms of the damage that you can cause,” he said.

Coun. Andre Chabot told council he’s most concerned about speeding in school and playground zones. Consolidating the zones might improve safety, he said.

Maybe it's just my neighborhood, but I live close to 3 schools, and have never once had a kid run out in front of me, or had to do an emergency maneuver to avoid hitting someone. Nor have I ever heard of someone getting hit near a school.

In fact it was only a few years ago, they tested having NO LIMIT at all.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...zones-1.763040

[syscal]

Originally posted by nzwasp
Pootman in ward six is pushing this forward. I dont think changing the fine is going to do a damn difference in my area because you never see a cop enforcing any speeding around there. He should give up trying to change the fine and spend his time fixing the lights on 17th ave sw where the train is screwing it up.

We must live in the same area. I emailed Pootmans to see if we could get a cop to actually come around once.

[Thomas Gabriel]

Originally posted by syscal


We must live in the same area. I emailed Pootmans to see if we could get a cop to actually come around once.

Wow - you love sucking nanny state cock don't you?

[Mitsu3000gt]

They can quadruple the fines for all I care, if we had reasonable speed limits on most roads.

Unfortunately, we already have artificially low speed limits on many roads specifically for revenue generating purposes.

As for actual residential roads, I typically find 50km/h is pretty reasonable. There are some ridiculous 50 zones though, residential or not.

School and Playground Zones are always weird as well. I have never in my life seen a child playing anywhere near the street in a School zone, since they are always hundreds of meters away behind 1-2 large fences, on the playground (if they are even outside at all), and only when the weather is good. Playground zones are ridiculous though, they should be discretionary. When it's -40 and the sun is down, but hasn't been for an hour yet, people shouldn't be getting tickets for doing 40. I really like the idea in the link Tik-Tok posted. It should be discretionary, and then go ahead and increase the fine if people are stupid about it.

[kevie88]

Originally posted by Thomas Gabriel


Wow - you love sucking nanny state cock don't you?

Some people really don't appreciate shitheads going 25+kph over on residential streets. I'd love to see a cop come to my front street and ticket some of these retards.

Less radar on fast multilane roads, more in neighborhoods, I say.

[firebane]

Area I live in has a school zone but the school seems to be hardly used and never see any kids out. Immediately following the school zone is a playground zone so I agree with the comments about creating a single zone for schools and playgrounds.

With that said as stated above I've NEVER EVER seen a cop in this area ever and I highly doubt they are going to start enforcing every little tiny school zone in Calgary.

Just another ridicoulous cash grab.

[FraserB]

Syscal's area is probably one of the exceptions where people are going to be driving full retard a lot of the time. Mainly due to the lane design and where the school by his house is located.


This story is simply going to die because the province is not going to look at this issue.

For one thing, speeding in school and playground is a problem the city has created. For some reason, the city has decided that we need 1,800+ school/playground zones; the police would have us believe that without these areas, people will be mowing down kids left, right and center. Somehow, Edmonton gets by just fine without them.

The second is that you would have to establish exactly what a residential area is. It would need to be a defined geographical area and not segregated by just speed limit values. To accommodate the modified fine schedule and definitions, the TSA would need to be amended. Right there is hundreds of thousands of dollars for survey, signage, installation, enforcement and education. The province would probably not be willing to help pay for a made up issue.

Third, there is no actual evidence that supports the claims that they put forward in their motion. The "evidence" they have shown is a bunch of housewives with no training or ability to provide anything more than hyperbolic reports. If they had a long term, monitored study; they might have a bit more credibility.

Modifying the fine structure isn't going to do anything to solve the minute amount of traffic fatalities or injuries that occur in the zones they wish to target. People need to be educated about safely using the area around a road and how to properly interact with cars. As much as parents would like to believe, the road is not a playground and pedestrians do not have right of way outside of a legal crossing. Teaching kids to not run out into roads from between cars and how to properly use the portions of roads pedestrians are allowed to use would go much further.

In the end, this is the city trying to increase fine revenue and using safety as a convenient excuse to do it. If they tried to double the fines on Glenmore or other arteries, they would be shot down in a second because there is no way to make an emotional appeal in those areas.

[rage2]

After driving to work this morning, I'm for this fine. I always consciously set my cruise control to 30 before every zone, and it's all the moms bitching about speeders that are doing the speeding, illegal u-turns, sudden stops in the middle of the road, just dumb ass driving that's all ticketable. Triple it for all I care, won't affect me haha.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by rage2
After driving to work this morning, I'm for this fine. I always consciously set my cruise control to 30 before every zone, and it's all the moms bitching about speeders that are doing the speeding, illegal u-turns, sudden stops in the middle of the road, just dumb ass driving that's all ticketable. Triple it for all I care, won't affect me haha.

I tried that once, and my cruise control won't engage below 40kph. #firstworldproblems

[speedog]

Originally posted by rage2
After driving to work this morning, I'm for this fine. I always consciously set my cruise control to 30 before every zone, and it's all the moms bitching about speeders that are doing the speeding, illegal u-turns, sudden stops in the middle of the road, just dumb ass driving that's all ticketable. Triple it for all I care, won't affect me haha.

That is what CPS should be targeting - all the helicopter parents who figure the rules of the road don't apply to them when they are driving their precious to/from school. U-turns, double parking, parking on sidewalks, parking in front of driveways and garages, parking on private property, parking and blocking alleys - man, we see it all at our local K-6 school which is 95% out of community kids of which probably a third are driven there by clued out moms and dads. Speeding in that school's school zone isn't an issue because of all the twice daily traffic nightmare issues.

[Feruk]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok
Maybe it's just my neighborhood, but I live close to 3 schools, and have never once had a kid run out in front of me, or had to do an emergency maneuver to avoid hitting someone. Nor have I ever heard of someone getting hit near a school.

In fact it was only a few years ago, they tested having NO LIMIT at all.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...zones-1.763040

What was the result??

[avishal26]

Originally posted by rage2
After driving to work this morning, I'm for this fine. I always consciously set my cruise control to 30 before every zone, and it's all the moms bitching about speeders that are doing the speeding, illegal u-turns, sudden stops in the middle of the road, just dumb ass driving that's all ticketable. Triple it for all I care, won't affect me haha.

haha the worst offenders I usually see in residential areas are 'housewives' sometimes with kids in tow because they're late for the game or for the school bus....

Something needs to be done about Evanston - people constantly drive at 80kph through Symons Valley Pkwy NW that goes through Evanston - one day someone is going to gets seriously hurt at the cross-walk (especially the first one going up the hill into Evanston) - too many people cutting each other off and aggressive driving. People need to realize that when they cut someone off in their own neighborhood, there's a good chance that person lives on the same street as them !

Originally posted by spikerS


I tried that once, and my cruise control won't engage below 40kph. #firstworldproblems

haha I know me too! Mine starts at 36kph or something

[syscal]

Originally posted by Thomas Gabriel


Wow - you love sucking nanny state cock don't you?

I wouldn't say anything if there weren't so many near-misses and two hits this year alone. My wife was hit in a crosswalk, in a playground zone, in a yield. Had to push my kid out of the way while she was getting hit. Another parent was hit in the same month.

Same thing as another post on here. Parents double parking, uturns in the zone, passing, blocking the bus lane, looking left while turning right, etc. A four way stop would fix most of the issues. The intersection is confusing as hell and worse when the parent traffic starts. Speed isn't actually the problem though it's pretty bad. Maybe I should drive the 1/2 block to get her to school

[Xtrema]

Why don't we just adjust fine to % of speed over by?

< 10% = No fine
<10%-20% = $200
<20%-30% = $400
<30%-40% = $800
40% > = $2000

[nickyh]

They can charge $500 for every 1km over - it means nothing if there is no actual enforcement.

I live between two private schools and have a play ground zone on the way to the schools and my road, I have called the traffic enforcement line more times than I should have to, to get a radar patrol out there. All the moms picking up Johnny and Suzie who is late sitting an inch off my bumper because I dare to slow down for the play ground zone and then also try and drive around me.
There are some people that find it acceptable to also speed along my side street (Webber parents) because they are late dropping off and now my road is the new deerfoot between 8 and 8:30am.

They will be first to scream about the injustice and go on a witch hunt if their kid is hit, yet.....


I never go faster than 30km in my residential side street, there are too many little kids who don't understand how long it would take me to stop and how much my car outweighs them. All too often after 4pm when I am heading home there are at least 8 or 9 kids in front on my neighbors house playing in the road.

[nzwasp]

Originally posted by nickyh
They can charge $500 for every 1km over - it means nothing if there is no actual enforcement.

I live between two private schools and have a play ground zone on the way to the schools and my road, I have called the traffic enforcement line more times than I should have to, to get a radar patrol out there. All the moms picking up Johnny and Suzie who is late sitting an inch off my bumper because I dare to slow down for the play ground zone and then also try and drive around me.
There are some people that find it acceptable to also speed along my side street (Webber parents) because they are late dropping off and now my road is the new deerfoot between 8 and 8:30am.

They will be first to scream about the injustice and go on a witch hunt if their kid is hit, yet.....


I never go faster than 30km in my residential side street, there are too many little kids who don't understand how long it would take me to stop and how much my car outweighs them. All too often after 4pm when I am heading home there are at least 8 or 9 kids in front on my neighbors house playing in the road.

Simple solution add some speed bumps.

But I know what you mean, nothing worse than rich soccer moms. I get them tail gating me on 85th all the time.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by nzwasp


Simple solution add some speed bumps.

But I know what you mean, nothing worse than rich soccer moms. I get them tail gating me on 85th all the time.

Not speed bumps, but speed humps, that would actually work nicely if they were that concerned about safety because they would then become 24/7 zones as well.

They just wake you up a little so you know to be aware of your surroundings.


» Click image for larger version

[frizzlefry]

Speed humps just result in people speeding up and slowing down speeding up and slowing down. Making them annoyed and impatient.

I much prefer roundabouts, they slow down traffic but keep people moving thus reducing the chance of creating angry drivers.

And if you put in humps you need to constantly repaint them. The ones at westhills are completely paint free now. I always forget they are there and nearly bottom out every damn time.