The City of Ottawa says more drivers are speeding in school zones five months after the Ontario government shut off automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras.
A new report for the city’s public works and infrastructure committee cites preliminary data showing that speeding is up at locations where the cameras were installed.
Staff note the findings do not factor in signage the province has ordered to replace those cameras; those signs are still being installed, the report added.
“Based on data from the original pilot cameras, driver compliance with posted speed limits showed sustained and continuous improvement year over year. From 16 per cent before the cameras were installed to 87 per cent after four years,” staff said in the report, which was based on data from six of eight sites due to technical issues causing data unavailability.
“High-end speeding was also greatly reduced, dropping from 14 per cent before installation to only 0.3 per cent after four years.”
Just one week after their removal, compliance with the posted speed limit dropped to 62 per cent from 87 per cent. Instances of high-end speed rose to 2.2 per cent from 0.3 per cent.
Twelve weeks post-ASE, speed compliance sank to 41 per cent and reports of speeding were at 4.5 per cent.
“That’s a significant decline, and a clear setback when it comes to road safety in our communities,” Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney, who chairs the committee, said in a post on X Tuesday.
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“As we move forward with our traffic safety plan, we will need to identify and implement alternative measures that ensure drivers slow down and residents feel safe on their streets.”
Ottawa now out $15M annually in revenue
Premier Doug Ford railed last year against the cameras, saying they don’t work and calling them a municipal “cash grab.”
A study from Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children disagreed with that assertion, finding that speeding was reduced by 45 per cent in Toronto. Despite this, Ford was unwavering in his plan to replace the cameras, which caught cabinet ministers’ vehicles speeding more than 20 times.
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The day before the ban officially came into place, the government unveiled $210 million for cities to install speed bumps, roundabouts and flashing signs instead.
An initial amount of $42 million was made immediately available and divided based on existing programs. The remaining $168 million will be shared among municipalities after they complete plans for 2026.
Staff said the province has committed up to $23.8 million to replace the cameras, which brought in roughly $15 million every year.
Without them this year, Ottawa can expect to generate just $800,000 from outstanding infractions, staff said.
The city also needs to shrink the 2026 Road Safety Action Plan capital program to $7.5 million from $15 million given the “loss of this major funding source.”
“This is not the direction we want to be heading, but the data is clear and it reinforces the need to act,” Tierney wrote.
The committee is scheduled to discuss the report at its April 23 meeting.
— with files from Isaac Callan
If they cared about safety, the signs would have been much further out so people would have the chance to slow down before the zone, but no, they want the cash not safety. Easy to say they care, but in reality, speed bumps work much better, but they cost money instead of making it, so, you know which option the city chose.
Money over safety.
Greed over Safety.
Now what do you have, nothing but regrets.
They are a cash grab as proven by the money they make. They are not slowing anyone down or there would be no tickets.
If the cities had not been so greedy, they would have used them sparingly and only in problem Ed school zones.
Instead, they got greedy placing them everywhere including on the 416 in Ottawa which has no safety concerns.
But they dont care about safety. They want the money and its clear.
The amount of tickets the cameras generated show they don’t work.
They put signs up in places where you were so close, you were already ticketed by the time you saw the sign.
If they cared about safety, the signs would have been much further out so people would have the chance to slow down before the zone, but no, they want the cash not safety. Easy to say they care, but in reality, speed bumps work much better, but they cost money instead of making it, so, you know which option the city chose.
Money over safety.
Greed over Safety.
Now what do you have, nothing but regrets.
And of even more importance, the acquiring of valuable ‘driving tax’ funds are no longer available.