In 2018, West Vancouver police sent 216 vehicles to the impound lot for excessive speeding, almost double the amount in 2016. Now West Vancouver council is saying enough is enough by unanimously supporting a motion from Couns. Marcus Wong and Sharon Thompson calling on the province to allow automated speed enforcement on municipal streets.
We applaud Wong and Thompson for sticking their necks out on an issue that can spell political ruin.
Gordon Campbell came to office on the promise to eliminate photo radar and it was one of his first acts in government.
Drivers don’t like the idea of getting dinged for speeding without having been caught in the act by the Five-O. It’s unsporting, they say. It’s a money grab. It’s really the slower drivers who are more dangerous – all manner of excuses that deflect from their personal responsibility. People seem to be at their most selfish when they are behind the wheel of a car.
If the District of West Vancouver is willing to spend some political capital in the name of public safety, then we would strongly suggest the provincial government oblige them.
But, while catching speeders and punishing them for it remotely may correct their behaviour over time, it’s still a reactive measure. The municipality has tools within its own jurisdiction to slow drivers down mostly with how their streets are designed. While council waits patiently for what we hope is a green light from the province, we’d suggest they think more about engineering and less about enforcement.
Far better than punishing someone for an offence is stopping them from committing it in the first place.
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