Steinbach City Council has approved a proposal that will see Ste. Anne Police working alongside Steinbach RCMP to target unsafe driving behaviour in the city. The initiative, funded by Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI), will provide additional traffic enforcement through overtime hours for officers, with a focus on Main Street and other areas where speeding and reckless driving have been reported.
Addressing community concerns
Steinbach Deputy Mayor Michael Zwaagstra highlighted the ongoing concerns about street racing during Tuesday’s council meeting. "We have certainly in the last couple of months heard more reports from people noticing racing on Main Street and obviously desiring more enforcement," Zwaagstra said. "I think we got to do whatever we can to catch these individuals. And frankly, if you don't like the fact you're getting pulled over by a Ste. Anne officer while you're racing down Main Street, I don't care because you shouldn't be racing down Main Street. So, if your car gets impounded, I don't really care which officer it is that's impounding your car. Tough luck."
Zwaagstra noted that due to RCMP staffing shortages, additional resources are necessary to address the growing concerns about traffic violations in Steinbach. "The reality is, like many other cities across the country, we don’t have our full RCMP complement," he said. "We’re often two, three, or four officers short of the amount that we have requested, and that affects the ability to do proper enforcement."
A collaborative approach to enforcement
Steinbach Mayor Earl Funk emphasized that MPI has regularly funded similar initiatives in the past, typically targeting distracted driving or speeding. However, the latest collaboration will have a broader scope.
"This time they say anything that’s ticketable is fair game, and I like that," said Funk. "Any kind of imprudent driving or speed or anything that causes accidents, and I think this is a good way for MPI to put some of the money back in preventative (measures)."
Funk added that the agreement represents a regional approach to road safety. "We are finding more and more that with the way policing is going, we have to work together," he said. "There’s nothing wrong with working with your neighbours and ensuring that all of our people are safe."
Enhanced enforcement strategy
According to Funk, Ste. Anne Police and Steinbach RCMP will use both marked and unmarked vehicles during the enforcement initiative.
Funk also said the enforcement will be entirely random, with no specific days or times announced. "At any given time, this could be happening in our community and outside our community," he said. "If you're driving erratically, you'll be ticketed. This morning, I was reading a story about what happened this weekend. There was a person caught driving 97 kilometers per hour on Main Street in a 50 (km/h zone) and was given a $665 fine."
Community reaction and next steps
City Council gave consensus approval for the initiative, which will proceed immediately. Funk emphasized that the objective is not to increase ticket revenue but to deter reckless driving and improve safety.
"We want to make our roads safe," said Funk. "When someone’s speeding, when someone’s driving imprudently, when someone’s not obeying the traffic rules, that infringes on people’s safety. And we want to fix that."