Multiplatform Journalism Assignment #4

Locations of Red-light Cameras in Toronto

Please see below for the red-light cameras location across Toronto. According to the data provided by the City of Toronto, there are 76 existing red-light cameras. 

Feel free to click on the red dots for the precise intersection information. 



Interesting Points:

1. There must be far more red lights in the city as well as far more drivers running red lights in the city - why are there so few red-lights cameras? Cost reasons? Necessity reasons? Are more being installed?

2. What are the city's measures to monitor the areas that do not have red-light cameras?

3. Why are these red lights installed in these particular locations? Also, more red lights seemed to appear in the downtown core area - why? More accidents? More careless drivers?

4. Is there a correlation between the speed limit and the red-light cameras? Is a camera installed in a higher-speed limit area?

5. Are drivers aware of these existing red-lights cameras? Do they warn each other? How? (When I was living in Winnipeg before, someone once wrote "CAMERA HERE" on a big white piece of cardboard and placed it underneath the pole of the red-light...)

6. If a data set of car accidents could be retrieved, then it would be possible to compare the locations of the accidents vs. the locations of the red-light cameras. Are drivers aware of the cameras thus making them drive with more caution, therefore less accidents in that area?

7. What happens after a driver has been photographed after running a red light? 


Source:
City of Toronto Open Data:
http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=ca2a80bd9bfda410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=75d6e03bb8d1e310VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD