Both Ottawa and Toronto say the signs they received from the Ford government to replace their banned speed cameras are too big to fit on the poles they currently have, meaning the province will have to pay for new poles and installation.
Earlier in November, Ontario’s ban on speed cameras came into force, after Premier Doug Ford repeatedly claimed big signs and flashing lights were a more effective way to slow people down than automated speed enforcement.
As part of its moves to remove speed cameras, the province said it would provide large, temporary slow-down signs to cities and then offer them infrastructure funding for broader changes in the new year.
When the signs arrived, however, they proved to be too large for the poles in school zones that cities had planned to mount them on.
“We have received signs for 20 school zones, and yes, they’re too big; we have to get new poles,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said on Wednesday. “The province said they would cover the cost.”
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A spokesperson for the City of Ottawa, where bilingual signs appear to be even larger than Toronto’s, confirmed theirs were also too big and that the province would be handling the cost of adding new poles to mount them on.
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Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria’s office said cities had been told weeks ago the province would pay for new poles if required and briefed on the size of the signs.
“I think the City of Ottawa, as part of their allocation, were given a lot of money to prepare for that and find appropriate poles to put the signs on,” Sarkaria told reporters on Wednesday.
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“The issue here is, how do you install a sign? I think the City of Ottawa can figure out how to install a sign, just like every other municipality.”
His office added that a presentation was given to all cities, including information on the type of poles that would be required. They said municipalities were told the province would pay for new poles and install them if they asked.
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Sarkaria said the “configurations” of the signs had been public since October, and cities were given “prior knowledge” of what size they would be and how they should be put up.
“When it comes down to securing a sign, I think municipalities can figure out how to install a sign,” he added.
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Opposition politicians said the issues with the signs showed the government had rushed through the process of banning speed cameras.
“Now we have a government that can’t even get the signs right because they’re in such a hurry,” Ontario Liberal MPP John Fraser said.
“They’re in such a hurry that they sent oversized signs, maybe because they’re trying to make an oversized statement about the big thing they’re doing to replace speed cameras. They don’t even fit on the poles.”
The legislation banning speed cameras was tabled on the first day of the fall sitting in October, bypassing committee and passing into law exactly two weeks later.
The cameras were officially banned on Nov. 14.
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