Edmonton driver fuming over photo-radar fleet's idling ways

The flash of a camera from a roadside speed trap will make almost any driver angry, but an Edmonton man has found another reason to loathe the city's photo-radar fleet: exhaust fumes.

Kelly Rota says vans within the city's fleet are left to idle for hours at a time, spewing pollution into the air, even in no-idle zones.

"Why should this be allowed to happen when we're so concerned about the environment right now?"

Rota has contacted the city numerous times, asking them to halt the practice, but to no avail.

"(The response) was kind of dismissive in my mind and was basically telling me to go away. And when I wouldn't accept that, someone forwarded my email to a supervisor, which in my mind still does not deal with the question I had."

Rota was told photo-radar vans are considered emergency vehicles and are therefore exempt from the rules.

"They basically claimed that photo-radar tickets are (of the) same ilk as police, fire and medical, offering essential services to the public, and I don't believe that argument is true," Rota said.

Dennis Tetreault, with Edmonton's Office of Traffic Safety, told CBC News idling is needed to keep their workers warm and safe, and to power their enforcement systems.

"So we have a radar unit, a camera unit, a laptop, strobes, front- and rear-dash cameras, and a police radio that's being monitored; as well as the climate control for the equipment."

However, Rota wants the city look at alternative ways to power the fleet or expand the use of stationary units that connect directly to the power grid.

For the record, Rota has never received a photo-radar ticket.

"It's not about that."