Latest news with #DelDuca
Toronto Star
12-06-2025
- Automotive
- Toronto Star
‘That's a lot': Vaughan pumps the brakes on photo radar after a deluge of speeding tickets raises hackles
Have Vaughan's new automated speed cameras become a victim of their own success? The municipality says it will pause issuing fines to speedy drivers after the city's recently launched automated speed enforcement program appears to have exceeded expectations. Over a period of three weeks, more than 32,000 tickets were issued to drivers who went over the speed limit — in most cases 40 km/h — at 10 locations around the city where the automated speed cameras are located. 'That's a lot,' Mayor Steven Del Duca told city council last week, referring to the number of tickets issued from the end of April to mid-May. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Del Duca said he asked staff for a report on the speed cameras after his office was inundated with complaints from Vaughan residents, with some raising the issue of 'fairness.' 'I think it's also safe to say, as someone who drives assertively myself, that we do in certain areas of the city, have a bit of an issue with motorists who are using the roads and are driving too fast,' added Del Duca, at the meeting. But he said he has 'heard very loudly and clearly' from residents about the rollout of the cameras. He said the issue is not 'about whether people should be driving slower on city roads,' but that a large chunk of the community was still 'caught off guard,' despite months of notices along roadways, public education efforts and large signage. Del Duca told council that several seniors told him they stopped going to bingo altogether after racking up numerous infractions on the same route — and they only found out they had been nabbed for speeding after several tickets showed up in their mailbox. There is a question in residents' minds 'around fairness about the initiative,' he said, and whether it's truly keeping roads safe or it's simply a way for the city to generate revenue. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW According to the staff report, the highest number of tickets — nearly 10,000 — were issued along New Westminster Drive, which has a posted speed of 40 km/h. According to the speed cameras, the average speeder on that stretch was clocked doing 56 km/h and the fastest was caught driving about 95 km/h. However, the data shows that the number of infractions decreased in the same area over time, going from 4,482 in the first week to 1,994 in the third week. Typically, going 10 km/h over the limit would result in a fine of $68.25, which includes a $50 fine, a $10 victim surcharge fee and $8.25 license plate surcharge fee. Data from two cameras was deemed incomplete, due to vandalism of the devices — an issue that has plagued speed cameras in Toronto too. Council's motion will pause fines during the summer, but heavy-footed drivers will still receive warnings if they are caught speeding on city roads. The pause will give the city time to ensure signage and warnings are effectively communicated. Gta Who installed a camera to watch the Parkside speed camera, and where is it now? The latest chapter in an enduring Toronto mystery Who put up the trail camera? We don't know. Did it catch the suspect? No idea. Gta Who installed a camera to watch the Parkside speed camera, and where is it now? The latest chapter in an enduring Toronto mystery Who put up the trail camera? We don't know. Did it catch the suspect? No idea. But Ward 3 Coun. Rosanna DeFrancesca said the punitive nature of the fines is what will make people change their behaviour. 'That's the whole point — if you got tickets, you aren't paying attention,' said DeFrancesca told council. 'It's the summer … we got kids running around … and this is the most dangerous time for our pedestrians.' In May, Premier Doug Ford also spoke about the public perception that the automated speed cameras were being used to generate income for cash-strapped municipalities. The province introduced measures in the budget that requires cities to be more transparent about signage, and also gives the Ministry of Transportation the ability to intervene on how the cameras are used.
Ottawa Citizen
14-05-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
BILD Applauds Mayor Del Duca and City of Vaughan for New "Three Strikes and You're In" Site Plan Approval Model
Article content Toronto, May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Toronto May 14, 2025 – The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) applauds the City of Vaughan for taking yet another positive step to facilitate housing supply and affordability in the municipality. Following yesterday's Committee of the Whole approval of the motion being put forward by Mayor Del Duca to implement a new 'Three Strikes and You're In' model for site plan approval, Vaughan is taking concrete action to reduce delays and streamline the approvals process. This move also supports the city's pledge to enable the construction of 42,000 new homes by 2032. Article content Article content Article content 'When it comes to residential and commercial development, time is literally money,' said Dave Wilkes, President and CEO of BILD. 'We know from BILD's 2024 Municipal Benchmarking Study that each month of delay in planning approval in the GTA adds between $2,673 per unit per month to $5,576 per unit per month, depending on housing type and location. With site plan approvals in the GTA averaging 23 months this adds up quickly, impacting housing affordability and slowing additional supply.' Article content Yesterday's motion commits to set up a new process effective June 2025 that will limit the city's comments on site plan applications to three sets of comments (if necessary). This will limit the time delays and bureaucratic back and forth that has come to characterize site plan application processes in many GTA municipalities. Following the third set of comments by the City, applicants with outstanding issues will be given the option of a face-to-face 'redline' meeting with City staff to resolve any of these issues, with the goal of leaving that meeting with an issued Site Plan Approval. Article content Article content 'This motion and the resulting new process represent a significant and welcome culture shift by the City of Vaughan, led by the Mayor and Council,' said Wilkes. 'It marks a recognition that together, industry, municipalities and other levels of government must do what is necessary to ensure that young and new Canadians are afforded the same home ownership opportunities as previous generations. Addressing this generational housing inequity is a defining issue of our time, and failure is not an option. We congratulate and thank Mayor Del Duca and Vaughan City Council for this initiative that will lower added costs, reduce delays, and accelerate the addition of housing supply.' Article content Vaughan's approach reflects similar practices adopted in other municipalities, such as Mississauga, and should be considered a best practice for all GTA municipalities. Article content Article content
Associated Press
09-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Del Duca's fourth-place finish for USA Bobsled at world championships fuels his appetite for more
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) — Frank Del Duca has some of U.S. bobsled great Steven Holcomb's tools in his possession. Actual tools, as in ones that Holcomb used to tune up his sleds when he was the world's best bobsledder. When Holcomb died, the tools made their way to Del Duca. And maybe there's still some magic in them. Del Duca matched his best finish in a major international race on Sunday, finishing fourth in the two-man world championship on USA Bobsled's home track at Mount Van Hoevenberg. He couldn't break through the German barricade atop the podium — Francesco Friedrich won, Johannes Lochner was second and Adam Ammour was third to lead a sweep of the medals — but Del Duca was right there all the way to the end. 'Really, really wanted a medal,' said Del Duca, who teamed with Charlie Volker to finish fourth, less than a quarter-second away from Ammour's bronze-medal time. 'I see where I gave up some time. And you just have to be perfect to duke it out with the Germans. They're a very strong program, top to bottom. And we're knocking on the door. But there's just a little more I need to do to be really, really fighting it out with them.' Del Duca is the pilot of USA-1, which makes him America's best men's bobsled hope right now going into an Olympics in 11 months. He's had top-10 finishes in 14 of his last 17 World Cup two-man races and now has back-to-back top-five finishes in two-man at the world championships. A big-stage medal hasn't come his way yet, but he's getting closer. 'It'd be nice to break that 1-2-3 German streak,' fellow U.S. men's pilot Kris Horn said. 'They're still ahead of us. But we're catching up quick.' Del Duca and Volker were fourth in all four of the two-man heats over the two-day competition this weekend in Lake Placid. 'It's lit a fire under all of us to know that we are here, duking it out with the best in the world — which means we're amongst the best in the world,' Del Duca said. 'And it's time to bring home some hardware and really put on a great race for the fans and everyone out here supporting us.' He's part of a long line of soldiers-turned-bobsledders. Del Duca is part of the U.S. Army and its World Class Athlete Program, which has helped support U.S. sliders for years. He calls it a dual privilege to wear the U.S. colors both as a soldier and a slider. 'It's probably the biggest honor I've had,' Del Duca said. 'It's something I'm incredibly grateful for. I don't take it lightly. It's an opportunity. And it's also an obligation to represent the country, the team, my family, friends, the organization, everyone I've associated with and everyone that's helped me get here.' ___
Associated Press
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Germans hold 1-2-3 spots midway through 2-man world bobsled championship, with US in medal hunt
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) — Take the season's biggest races in the sliding sports of bobsled, skeleton and luge, meaning either the Olympics or the world championships, and there have been 59 instances of sliders from one place sweeping the podium. Austria did it twice. Poland did it once. The other 56 times, it was German sliders. That includes some instances of East German and West German sliders combining for those sweeps before the countries unified, but you get the idea. Surprise! The Germans are poised to do it again in the two-man world bobsled championships at snowy, windy and blustery Lake Placid, with Francesco Friedrich, Johannes Lochner and Adam Ammour driving into the top three spots after the first two heats of this year's title race on Saturday. Friedrich and Alexander Schüller lead in 1 minute, 49.75 seconds. Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer are 0.14 seconds back in second place, while Ammour and Benedikt Hertel are 0.33 seconds off the lead in third. The final two runs are Sunday. 'The third run,' Friedrich said, 'is the decision.' He knows better than anyone what it takes. Friedrich has won the world two-man title eight times in the last nine competitions, plus has two Olympic two-man gold medals in that span. He's the undisputed king of sliding, a winner of 105 World Cup, world championship and Olympic races in his career, and is two runs away from No. 106. 'We have to be good on every track of the world if we want to be world champions,' Friedrich said. 'Lake Placid, I was here for the first time in 2012 and it's a really tough track. I've had great rhythm and when you know how to take the rhythm it's a very, very excellent track.' Right on the German heels: Frank Del Duca and Charlie Volker of the U.S., a half-second back of Friedrich and only 0.17 seconds off a medal position. Del Duca is bidding to be the first U.S. men's pilot to win a medal at worlds since the late Steve Holcomb drove to a four-man gold at St. Moritz in 2013. 'We put ourselves in contention and, you know, we're obviously hungry for more,' Del Duca said. 'But when we look at how we executed, I think it was pretty solid. Definitely something to build off. And let's see if we can chip away and snag a medal.' ___
