3 speed-enforcement cameras cut down, vandalized in Niagara Region

Officials in Niagara Region say three speed-enforcement cameras were cut down and vandalized in Smithville and Welland over the past few days.

Frank Tassone, director of transportation services in Niagara says the cameras taken down in Smithville on Monday were at Townline Road near Christian High School and Station Street near John Calvin School. The fixture knocked out in Welland was on Rice Road, between Quaker Road and Woodlawn Road.

The poles, sawed in half, were a repeat of vandalism at multiple locations in April, including John Calvin and Christian High plus another at Twenty Valley Public School in Vineland.

“We’ve experienced a small level of vandalism on all of the cameras since the original installation of them, which was September of 2023,” Tassone explained.

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He says the repairs are the responsibility of contractor Redflex Traffic Systems (Canada) Ltd., and that no immediate timeline for a repair has been set.

The region has 13 community safety zones where four cameras circulate approximately every 90 days.

Mobile units were implemented for the first rotation between September through November.

Speeding violations captured per hour decreased over the four months of deployment, from 181 in September to 60 per hour in December.

“The reason why we used the mobile units is that the current pole-mounted hardware was simply not available,” said Tassone.

The mobile units, which resemble a mailbox, saw camera lenses spray painted by vandals upon implementation.

“Now that we’ve gone to the pole-mounted units, the primary damage that we’re seeing are cut downs,” Tassone revealed.

More cameras are on the way, after regional councillors gave an initial thumbs up last month for four more cameras in 2025 and an additional four in 2026, equating to 12 in the next two years.

“The first will be 2025 in 12 new community safety zones approved in 2023,” according to Tassone.

Niagara Regional Police have confirmed investigations into all the cameras damaged between April and May. The Region is now exploring the possibility of mounting extra surveillance cameras near the enforcement units.

“We’re not sure exactly how that’s going to look at this point, but it is something that we’re strongly considering on a go-forward basis,” Tassone said.