Toronto councillor proposes stop sign cameras in residential areas

Toronto city councillor Jon Burnside is proposing a high-tech solution he believes would improve safety on residential streets.

At a meeting of Toronto’s public works committee on Thursday, Burnside lobbied for the installation of cameras at stop signs in residential neighborhoods.

“The only way to change driver behavior is to increase the likelihood of getting caught,” Burnside said.

The issue of safety on residential streets is an important one to Burnside — he was elected in Ward 26 following the tragic death of a 7-year-old girl in July of 2014.

Georgia Walsh was struck and killed by a minivan that allegedly ran a red light at McRae Drive and Millwood Road.

A man has been charged with careless driving in that case.

Burnside said that under the new system, drivers would receive a ticket in the mail and link to a website where they could watch themselves go through the stop sign.

Toronto police chief Bill Blair is backing the idea, which goes hand in hand with another proposal — to lower the speed limit to 30 km in some areas of the city.

“We need to have a certainty of consequence and I don’t think we should use that to catch people but to deter people.”

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