An increasing number of drivers are being ticketed for speeding through a busy central Nanaimo intersection. (file photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

blowing red lights

Red light runners surge at central Nanaimo intersection

Apr 11, 2024 | 4:13 PM

NANAIMO — A red light means step on it for a rising number of motorists at a central Nanaimo intersection.

Newly released data from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure showed 838 tickets were mailed to red light runners at the Island Hwy./Bowen Rd./Norwell Dr. last year, averaging 2.3 violations per day.

The increase marks a third straight year of significantly more motorists ignoring red lights at the busy intersection, representing a 21 per cent jump from the 663 violations in 2022.

While only 266 red light violations on the highway at Bowen Rd. were clocked in 2021, COVID-19 restrictions likely skewed data for the year.

The nearly 840 vehicles captured on camera entering the central Nanaimo intersection on a red light in 2023 represents the most violations among the ten cameras outside the Lower Mainland.

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At the Island Hwy./Aulds Rd./Hammond Bay Rd. intersection both red light violators and speeders are monitored.

Cameras nabbed 152 speeders last year, down from 209 in 2022. A further 149 red light runners were ticketed, an increase from 129 in 2022.

The 301 total violations at the north Nanaimo intersection represents a second consecutive year of reduced infractions (338 in 2022).

In September 2020 the Island Hwy./Aulds Rd./ Hammond Bay./ junction became the first Intersection Safety Camera (ISC) participant on Vancouver Island.

B.C.’s ISC initiative involves 140 automated digital cameras monitoring high-risk intersections around the province to enforce red light running, while 35 of the cameras double as speed enforcement tools.

Last year, 107,033 ISC tickets were issued province-wide, down from 117,389 in 2022.

“The cameras are proven to be effective at reducing side-impact, head-on, and pedestrian crashes,” the province stated on the ISC website.

Net revenues from ISC violations are returned to municipalities to support policing and public safety programs, the province stated.

More information on the ISC program, including where cameras are located, can be found here.

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ian.holmes@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes