Funding from photo radar cameras could speed up installation of traffic lights on rural Ottawa roads
Getting traffic lights installed on rural roads is a lengthy and costly process, Ottawa city staff say, but the cash generated by photo radar cameras could help speed it up.
Coun. George Darouze, chair of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, had asked staff about plans to install traffic lights at 19 different intersections in the city's rural wards; specifically, which intersections, how long those intersections have been waiting, and how much it would cost.
To the latter, the answer is not cheap.
"Staff have estimated that a high-level amount of approximately $65 million in 2024 dollars is required to implement traffic signals or roundabouts at the warranted locations in rural areas," the response, prepared for the April 4 meeting said. "This high-level cost estimate includes design and construction however; the estimate does not include potential property acquisition costs."
Staff identified 13 intersections in rural-designated wards and six intersections that are in rural areas in other wards. These intersections represent more than half of the 36 locations across the city waiting for traffic lights to be installed.
Some of these intersections have been approved for lights for years, but still don't have them. The average time the 19 intersections have been in the queue for traffic lights is 5 years, 9 months. The intersection of Roger Stevens Drive and Nixon Drive at River Road was warranted for lights just last October, but the intersection of Eagleson Road and Flewellyn Road was approved in May 2008, nearly 16 years ago.
The main issue holding them back is funding.
"If the existing 19 rural locations were prioritized for signal installation city wide, and the funding source was limited to an annual investment of approximately $2.7 million (in 2024 dollars) from the New Traffic Control Devices (NTCD) program, it would take approximately 24 years to retrofit all intersections with the warranted traffic controls," staff said.
Steps have been taken to speed this process up, however. The city's Road Safety Action Plan (RSAP) provides supplemental funding to the traffic control devices program, to the tune of $3 million in 2024. If that extra cash were to continue, staff say it could cut the time required to install traffic lights at the intersections to 11 years, and the extra cash brought in by photo radar could potentially speed up the process even more.
"With increasing automated speed enforcement revenues, annual RSAP investments in the NTCD Program to address warranted intersections will continue to increase over the coming years. Increased funding will help expedite timelines to retrofit warranted locations with needed traffic control signals," said staff.
Ottawa's photo radar cameras issued a record 220,789 speeding tickets, bringing in more than $14 million in revenue.
Staff noted, however, that the number of locations approved for traffic lights will grow over the years and the priority list for installation is updated annually.
"Once a location meets the minimum warrants for traffic signals, it is added to the New Traffic Control Devices (NTCD) Program list of warranted traffic signals. The list is prioritized based on several factors including level of warrant criteria met, collision rates, Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) volumes, roadway speed and environment," staff said. "The ranking of each warranted location can fluctuate over time as new traffic data is collected and reassessed and as new locations become warranted. The priority list includes all warranted traffic signal locations, whether in urban, suburban, or rural areas."
Intersections waiting for lights
The following is the list of the 19 rural intersections approved for traffic lights and the year they were first approved.
Donald B. Munro Drive / Old Carp Road at March Road, 2022
Anderson Road at Leitrim Road, 2017
Leitrim Road S at Ramsayville Road, 2022
Mer-Bleue Road W at Navan Road, 2018
Milton Road at Navan Road, 2017
Apple Orchard Road/Parkway Road at Stagecoach Road, 2022
Bank St at Dalmeny Road, 2022
Boundary Road at Mitch Owens Road, 2022
Hawthorne Road at Rideau Road, 2016
Roger Stevens Drive/Nixon Drive at River Road, 2023
Snake Island Road at Stagecoach Road, 2022
Barnsdale Road at Rideau Valley Drive, 2017
Eagleson Road at Flewellyn Road, 2008
Carling Avenue at 320 m east of March Road, 2017
Conroy Road at Queensdale Avenue, 2015
Conroy Road N & S at Davidson Road, 2015
Davidson Road at Hawthorne Road, 2017
Bridgestone Drive at Eagleson Road, 2016
Maple Grove Road at Silver Seven Road, 2017
--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Josh Pringle.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Health minister 'deeply appreciative' of doctors but capital gains changes here to stay
Health Minister Mark Holland says while he is 'deeply appreciative' of the work doctors in Canada do, the federal government has no plans to scrap the proposed capital gains tax changes outlined in the latest budget, despite opposition from the Canadian Medical Association.
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
'Of course, yes': Poland latest European country with interest in Canadian LNG
The President of Poland says his country would 'of course' be interested in purchasing Canadian liquefied natural gas if it were available, while the Canadian federal government has said it is 'not interested' in subsidizing future projects.
What Trudeau's podcast appearances say about the Liberals' next ballot box question
Trudeau recently appeared on four podcasts as he travels the country talking up the Liberals' latest budget, which he's pitching as a plan to inject more economic fairness into society for those under 40 — a cohort that has kept Trudeau in power since 2015 but is increasingly turning to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Passage of harsh anti-2SLGBTQ+ law in Iraq draws diplomatic backlash
Human rights groups and diplomats criticized a law that was quietly passed by the Iraqi parliament over the weekend that would impose heavy prison sentences on gay and transgender people.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
A munitions explosion at a Cambodian army base kills 20 soldiers, but its cause is unclear
Security was tight around a military base in southwestern Cambodia on Sunday, a day after a huge explosion there killed 20 soldiers, wounded others and damaged nearby houses.