Here's where 39 photo radar cameras will be installed in Ottawa over the next 14 months

Thirty-nine new photo radar cameras will be installed to keep an eye on Ottawa roads over the next 14 months, including on roads in the rural villages of Dunrobin, Manotick, Richmond and Vars.

There are currently 45 automated speed enforcement cameras set up in community safety and school zones across the City of Ottawa and in four high-speed pilot locations.  A total of 261,566 speed tickets were issued by 40 photo radar cameras between January and August, with five new cameras coming online this fall.

Fifteen photo radar cameras are scheduled to be installed by the end of this year. The 2025 City of Ottawa budget calls for another 24 photo radar cameras to be installed next year, including a pilot project to install the cameras on rural roads.

The four cameras in rural areas are:

• Perth Street between Cockburn Street and King Street North (Village of Richmond)
• Dunrobin Road from Porcupine Trail to Thomas A. Dolan Parkway (Village of Dunrobin)
• Rockdale Road from Horizon Drive to Buckland Road (Village of Vars)
• Manotick Main Street from Bankfield Road to Highcroft Drive (Village of Manotick) 

Staff say the photo radar cameras have been forcing drivers to slow down since they first appeared on Ottawa roads in 2020.

“Changes in driver behaviour and reducing speeds are also key to enhancing safety. A recent analysis of the original Automated Speed Enforcement pilot sites shows that extended use of speed cameras leads to more drivers obeying speed limits and fewer instances of “High End Speeding” (driving more than 15 km/h above the limit),” says a report for the transportation committee. “Better speed compliance at speed camera sites leads to fewer speeding incidents the longer the cameras are in place.”

Staff say within three months of a photo radar camera being installed, the number of drivers complying with the posted speed limit increased from 16 per cent to 57 per cent, and compliance jumps to 89 per cent within one year.

• Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

The plan to install 24 new cameras in 2025 comes as a new survey finds residents support the automated speed enforcement camera program.

The report for the transportation committee shows 53 per cent of 1,035 respondents to an online survey in August support automated speed enforcement, and more than 80 per cent support the use of cameras in areas where there are children near schools or near parks and playgrounds.

Thirty-five per cent of respondents said they received a ticket from a photo radar camera, and 69 per cent of people who received a ticket said it changed their behaviour.

Bringing a photo radar camera to Dunrobin is something area councillor Clarke Kelly says he supports.

"We've got a lot of road and the speed limits are higher in rural areas. You can get going much faster because there aren’t the same natural traffic calming measures as there would be in the urban and suburban areas," he said.

"It's all about safety. When people are afraid of their children's safety when they're putting them on the bus, that gets my attention, and I get those calls regularly."

Several residents in Dunrobin echoed Kelly’s point of view, telling CTV News that speeding is not uncommon in rural parts of the city, which brings about safety concerns.

"People drive here like crazy. Normally they don't obey the speed limits,” said Ihor Lutokhin.

"I get passed like I'm driving like a granny."

"You've got people going 60 and you got people going 140 so it's kind of dangerous in this area when you're on Dunrobin Road for sure," said Charles Girard.

“[The city] is going to make a fortune if they set up a camera.”

Council has approved a plan to install 15 to 25 photo radar cameras a year on Ottawa roads during the current term of council.

Revenue generated by automated speed enforcement cameras and red light cameras are allocated to the Road Safety Reserve Fund, which funds road safety initiatives across the city.  

The 2025 draft budget includes $18 million for the Road Safety Action Plan, with funding set aside for pedestrian safety improvements, cycling safety enhancements, pedestrian crossover installations and new traffic control devices.

The push by the city to bring in more speed cameras comes as a new report from CAA suggests many Canadians admit to driving above the speed limit.

"About 70 per cent of Canadians say they've been speeding in a residential neighbourhood in the last year. 20 per cent say they are regulars at speeding, and that's not a great thing,” said Jeff Walker, president and CEO for CAA North and East Ontario.

“I think any of us that are on the roads [in Ottawa] know that this is a significant issue. It is not abating; it seems to be ongoing.”

Here’s where the City of Ottawa will install new automated speed enforcement cameras in 2024 and 2025:

2024 new photo radar locations 

Staff say these are locations where photo radar cameras will be installed by the end of the year:

• Gardenway Drive, between Satum Crescent/Paradise Cresent and Northlands Drive
• Longfields Drive. from Marketplace Avenue/Clearbrook Drive to Strandherd Drive
• Terry Fox Drive from Old Second Line Road to Goulbourn Forced Road
• Stittsville Main Street from Hobin Street/Wildpine Court to Beverly Street
• Old Richmond Road from Kimberly Road to Tanglewood Drive
• Knoxdale Road from Cremona Crescent to Skipton Road
• Merivale Road from MacFarlane Road to Brookdale Avenue
• Ogilvie Road from Kender Avenue to La Verendyre Drive
• Crichton Street from St. Patrick Street to Vaughan Street
• Queen Mary Street from Edith Avenue to Quill Street
• Kitchener Avenue from Cochrane Street to Jasper Avenue
• Colonel Road from Delson Drive to west of Frank Kenny Road
• Bridge Street from Arthur Crescent to West River Drive
• Ottawa Street from McBean Street to Colonel Murray Street
• Stoneway Drive from Forest Gate Way to Mountain Ash Drive

2025 photo radar locations

Staff say these eight sites meet the requirements for photo radar cameras to be installed in 2025:

• Carriere Street from Orleans Boulevard to Michaelsem Street
• Abbott Street East between Iber Road and Robert Grant Avenue
• Old Richmond Road from Sanibel Private to Seyton Drive
• Fisher Avenue from Meadowlands Drive to Urbisci private
• Donald Street from Barnaby Private to Telford Avenue
• Fisher Avenue between Trent Street and McCooney lane
• Fern Casey Street from Renaud Road to Locust Ridge
• Perth Street between Cockburn Street and King Street North (Village of Richmond)

These 16 new locations are proposed for automated speed enforcement cameras in 2025, pending Hydro Ottawa review to confirm on-site power requirements.

• Bearbrook Road from Continuation of Bearbrook Road and Westpark Drive
• Strandherd Drive from Aura Avenue to Chapman Mills Drive
• Klondike Road from Sandhill Road and Marconi Avenue
• Dunrobin Road from Porcupine Trail to Thomas A. Dolan Parkway (Village of Dunrobin)
• Woodridge Crescent N. from Bayshore Drive to 535 metres west of Bayshore Drive
• Meadowlands Drive E from Chesterton Drive to Tiverton Drive
• Conroy Road from Lorry Greenberg Drive
• McArthur Avenue from Irwin Miller Street to Brant Street
• Lanark Avenue from Beechgrove Avenue to Briarway Private
• Bank Street from Exhibition Way to Wilton Crescent
• Valin Street from Winsome Terrace to Provence Avenue
• Osgoode Main Street from Elizabeth Street to Vance Street
• Rockdale Road from Horizon Drive to Buckland Road (Village of Vars)
• Manotick Main Street from Bankfield Road to Highcroft Drive (Village of Manotick) 
• Stonehaven Drive from Bridlewood Drive to Tamara Way
• Longfields Drive from Mountshannon Drive to Silver Sage Avenue

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Austin Lee