I wanted to voice my outrage over the Liberal gov't's idea to bring back photo-radar.
The premier has already admitted it is only a cash grab.
This brings back the Draconian ideals of the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.
I understand that the previous regime left Ontario in a financial mess, but perhaps the premier could start by culling the bonuses that the former board members of OPG gave themselves before instituting such an Orwellian measure.
I voted against the previous gov't that instituted photo-radar and will do so again if this gov't does so as well.
I look forward to your stand on this issue, chequebook in hand.
The financial allure of photo radar is too strong for many governments to resist.
The small city of 55,000 I live in has had one unit for about four years now. So successful it was, that they added a second unit this past year, giving us the rather dubious distinction of the highest number of photo radar units per capita in the country.
The latest year figures available for ONE unit amounted to $800,000.00 or 2% of the city's annual budget, or $2,200.00 a day, 365 days a year.
I just wrote a column on this issue this week and our elected council now openly refer to it as a "CASH COW."
If you don't want this raid on the pockets of Ontario drivers, say so loud and clear and do it now, just like Macspectrum did. Otherwise, await photo radar at your peril.
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I guess I'll have to break the radar detector out of retirement. [img]graemlins/greedy.gif[/img]
I heard on the news that Dalton has broken something like 18 promises so far. Good job buddy.
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Again like raising taxes on smoking, they are counting on money that may or may not be there. If no one speeds they wont get money, so they are still left with a deficit. They need something more concrete than this to generate revenue and need to stop milking Ontarians out of our money!
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Given the way that some people in Toronto drive (edit: okay, Ottawa too), I have little sympathy for those who get caught with photoradar. Break the law and pay a fine.
And as for breaking promises--it was eight years of keeping unrealistic promises that got us into the fiscal mess we're in now in Ontario. This may be one of the few times where a politician breaking promises does so to the *benefit* of citizens.
Oh and to those of you who might respond by saying that the Liberals should not have made the promises they did in the 2002 campaign, consider the happytalk that was coming from the governing Tories, who hid the province's mounting bills and campaigned on cutting taxes *even further*. There's plenty of deceit to go around, folks...just a matter of degree.
The lesson here is an old one (one that's been repeated many fold since 1980): neo-conservative trickle down economics serves the interests of the few today to the detriment of all tomorrow.
[ January 15, 2004, 05:22 PM: Message edited by: (( p g a n t )) ]
McGuinty has at least been honest in noting that this measure is simply a revenue generation idea. This is not about speed control. Nowhere has photo-radar made an impact in reducing average speeds on roads. It is deployed not at accident hotspots but at places where there is a maximal number of cars passing at a speed higher than the posted limit.
It is a random tax. And to those who would state that people should not exceed the speed limit, it is literally not possible to do this on 400 series highways in Ontario outside of rush hour. If you travel at the speed limit on the 401, you will be passed by virtually everyone. In fact, a pair of drivers protested this point by driving side by side along a 2 lane stretch of the 401 precisely at the speed limit causing a huge back-up. One of the drivers was charged with obstruction (or something similar).
As for Vancouver, I don't think speed radar is targeted to catch the idiot street racers, is it?
I don't understand why McGuinty doesn't just raise taxes and be done with it. It breaks one promise, not 20. If we are in a fiscal deficit, then we either cut services or raise taxes. Please just do it to our faces, not behind our backs.
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