Traffic cam curbing diamond-lane offences: transit

A traffic camera set up two weeks ago to monitor a diamond lane on Osborne Street is already helping to change drivers' behaviours, Winnipeg Transit officials said Wednesday.

The city set up the camera to determine how many drivers illegally drive in the lane on Osborne, which is reserved for transit buses and cyclists during the afternoon rush hour.

Drivers are supposed to travel in the diamond lane only if they're making the next right turn. The camera, set up at Mostyn Place, photographs drivers in the diamond lane who fail to turn right onto the street, locatedimmediatelynorth of the Osborne Bridge.

"The number was approximately 300 violations a day that were occurring just in that two-hour period during [weekdays]," transit operations manager Keith Martin told CBC News on Wednesday.

"Since the installation has been put in, we're seeing about 200, so a significant reduction in the number of violations this early on."

Karen Sellers, who regularly drives buses in the lane, said buses can't run on time if vehicles are improperly using the lane.

"Especially during rush hour if there's too many vehicles using the diamond lane, you can have anywhere from six to 10 buses backed up," she said, adding that she's already noticed a slight reduction in traffic in the lane.

However, she's also noticed a new problem: "The vehicles are trying to move over right before the diamond lane, so they're creating a little bit of a problem because they're holding up the traffic by wanting to move out of the lane."

No tickets yet

The use of transit-priority measures including diamond lanes, the Graham Avenue transit mall, a transit-only lane on Vaughn Street and "queue-jump" traffic signals saves Winnipeg Transit about $200,000 in operating costs along the Main Street-Graham Avenue-Osborne Street corridor, Martin said.

Faster, more reliable service also helps promote ridership, he said.

While the camera is recording scofflaws, they're not yet receiving tickets for the traffic violations.

City officials plan to let the camera track activity in the diamond lane for six months before deciding whether they should ask the province to allow photo enforcement to be used to issue tickets.

The law regarding traffic cameras would have to change to allow tickets to be handed out. Currently the cameras can only enforce certain offences at traffic lights, railway crossings and in construction, playground and school zones.

If camera enforcement is allowed, violators would face the regular $190 fine for improperly using a diamond lane.

If caught illegally using the lane by a police officer, drivers also face two demerit points. However, demerit points are not typically issued with photo-enforcement tickets because they are issued to the vehicle's owner, who may not necessarily be driving at the time.

Police have faced particular difficulty enforcing the diamond lane on Osborne because there isn't a good place to pull over offenders thatdoesn't block the lane, which would defeat its purpose, Martin said.