In school zones, where there are reduced school zone speed limits, tickets may be issued for the reduced speeds however they may not be enforceable. This is due to visual proof that the flashing units may not have been operational at the time of the ticket. Prosecutors consulted stated that without visual proof, there would be no way to prove that the lowered limit was in effect. OTC is working with the Province to come up with a solution to this but nothing is in place at this time.

Placement of school zones is governed by the School Neighbourhood Policy. Under the policy, a school approach street may have one of three classifications:

When the School Neighbourhood Policy was approved by Council in 2016, there was no advantage in identifying a school zone by by-law except to allow a reduced school zone speed limit; because of this, the Policy recommended school zones only in cases where a reduced speed limit was recommended. The 2019 ASE regulations to the Highway Traffic Act allow a new option that had not been previously considered: implementing school zones – even without speed limit reductions – specifically in order to allow automated speed enforcement.

Additionally, because of the issues raised by OTC regarding enforceability of ASE tickets in “40 km/h when flashing” reduced speed school zones, it may be desirable to delay implementation of new “40 km/h when flashing” signs until these enforceability issues are resolved.

In recognition of these issues, if Council directs that implementation of ASE be referred to the 2021 budget, Administration will provide recommended updates to the School Neighbourhood Policy to support ASE implementation, along with a cost estimate for the associated signage and an updated total cost to fully implement the School Neighbourhood Policy, taking into account the recommended policy updates.

Fines issued in Community Safety Zones may be doubled in the ASE program, similar to typical enforcement. Currently the City does not have a policy outlining the criteria for a Community Safety Zone. It is recommended that a Policy be developed and new locations be placed into the by-laws prior to the selection of ASE locations and that budget be assigned to allow for the installation of signage. The Province raised concerns that Municipalities may overuse the Community Safety Zones to effectively allow the operation of ASE in many locations. It is anticipated that they will be monitoring how Municipalities implement these policies.

Risk Analysis:

The City of Windsor is a border city therefore a large number of drivers on our roads are out of province and out of Country. As such there is a higher risk that a portion of the surplus revenue may not be collectable.

If the additional volume of tickets generated by the ASE program is significant, there could be a significant impact on the service levels of the local municipal Provincial Offences Office (POA). Once the additional tickets are filed at the POA office, the POA School zone (with “40 km/h when flashing” signage)  School area (with warning signs only)  Nothing (i.e. no special signs) 