JASPER – Municipal council will consider allowing community peace officers conduct moving traffic enforcement within municipal limits.
Christine Nadon, director of protective and legislative services, told council on Tuesday (May 13) that peace officers are currently not able to enforce moving traffic violations, which are primarily left to RCMP officers.
“We consistently hear the need for more controls or enforcement around moving traffic violations, which includes crosswalks, school zones, things like that,” Nadon said. “Currently, our staff are not empowered to do that, and that is what we are trying to change.”
Should council support this change in service level, the municipality would submit a traffic safety plan, approved by the Jasper RCMP detachment, to the Alberta Solicitor General’s office.
“Essentially, it outlines specifically which roadways are part of the townsite, which in Jasper is pretty simple,” Nadon said. “Our jurisdiction in this area is limited to the townsite only.”
If approved, the solicitor general would update Jasper’s peace officers’ designations to include specific authorities to enforce moving traffic violations under the Alberta Traffic Safety Act.
Administration estimated it would take several weeks for the change to come into effect and be visible in the community. Nadon clarified that this would apply to peace officers only and not bylaw officers.
She noted this type of enforcement has also come up in the context of wildfire recovery, such as ensuring contractors follow the speed limits.
“Our proposal is not that moving traffic violations would become the main focus of the department,” she said. “It would be more so integrated into regular patrols and utilized when we get complaints.”
Jasper RCMP detachment commander Sgt. Rick Bidaisee is supportive of the municipality’s plan, Nadon said, adding this change would supplement the local RCMP’s current enforcement efforts.
Council has already approved a $25,000 capital budget allocation for moving traffic violation equipment. While 50 per cent of the revenue generated from these tickets would return to the municipality, administration was unable to estimate how much revenue would be generated.
Coun. Helen Kelleher-Empey asked what administration thought about photo radar. Nadon replied that the municipality would need this new authority before it could adopt such a program.
“I’m very much in favour of photo radar, and the reason is that we want to slow traffic down,” Kelleher-Empey said. “If you are a construction worker, if you are a bus company, if you receive photo radar tickets, they go on your carrier profile. It certainly slows down the traffic, and I think that’s something we should really consider as well.”
Mayor Richard Ireland had safety concerns regarding peace officers enforcing these violations.
“Every time a light goes on to stop a vehicle that’s already moving, the vehicle itself becomes potentially a risk to the public,” Ireland said. “I don’t know what there is in the plan that has a degree of assurance that there won’t be high-speed chases down Connaught, which endanger both the officer and the public and the visitors on the street.”
Nadon replied there were clear directives within the peace officer program that they are not to chase vehicles and would call the RCMP if they observe something that is a public safety risk and wasn’t covered under the traffic safety plan.
“I would even go further in suggesting that even the RCMP has pretty strict guidelines in terms of chasing vehicles,” she added.
Coun. Kathleen Waxer noted how she had previously brought forward residents’ concerns about near misses at crosswalks along Connaught Drive and was supportive in the change in service level.
“I am pleased to see that this is a possibility, and it’s a step forward in addressing that community concern,” Waxer said.
Council is expected to make a decision at next week’s meeting.
