Most BC residents want red-light cameras to also nab speeders, survey suggests

A large majority of British Columbians would like to see red-light cameras used to capture vehicles that speed through intersections, a new survey suggests.

According to the poll, from Research Co.,a similarly large majority of British Columbians are in favour of fixed speed cameras in general.

Mobile speed cameras, meanwhile, are only slightly less popular.

Less popular still are point-to-point speed cameras, which measure a vehicle’s average speed over a particular distance, though they are still backed by a majority.

The survey found that:

• 72 per cent of respondents back speed-on-green cameras at intersections

• 73 per cent back fixed speed cameras

• 65 per cent back point-to-point cameras

• 57 per cent back average-speed cameras

“The reliance on red-light cameras to issue tickets for speeding is not politically contentious in British Columbia,” said Mario Canseco, the president of Research Co.

“Sizeable proportions of residents who voted for the BC Liberals (76 per cent), the BC New Democratic Party (74 per cent) and the BC Green Party (73 per cent) in 2020 agree with this approach.”

The poll also found that 61 per cent of respondents would like to see the speed limit reduced to 30 km/hr on residential streets, with arterial and collector roads capped at 50 km/hr.

Support for that measure was lowest in Southern BC (52 per cent) and highest in Northern BC (67 per cent).

Read the full survey here.