Ottawa speed camera revenues going into road safety improvements at critical intersections

The City of Ottawa's automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras continue to generate millions of dollars in revenue, and while some argue the cameras are merely revenue-generating tools, city officials insist the funds are being used exclusively for infrastructure improvements to make roads safer for all users, including pedestrians and cyclists.

One of the most recent projects funded by speed cameras is the transformation of the intersection at King Edward Avenue and St. Patrick Street. Previously considered potentially dangerous, especially for cyclists, the intersection now features a dedicated raised bike lane, along with signals and green road markers, to help navigate its twelve lanes of traffic.

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"It's definitely safer," says cyclist Alex Brisco. "I feel comfortable using the road but it's good to have for people who don't. Dedicated bike lanes are nice, but it's also about awareness on the road. We need to find a way to make it so that cars and bikes can use the roadways safely together."

Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney, who chairs the Transportation Committee, says that the revenue is being put to good use.

"This does not go into general revenues; that would make it a cash grab," he says. "This goes into exactly what we want, which is a safety action program to ensure we can do things we typically couldn't do with our general revenues, which frees up that money to do other things because we're collecting essentially a sin tax for speeding and we're porting it into making the roads safer."

The city's Road Safety Action Plan (RSAP) has identified several high-risk areas, including the intersection of Earl Armstrong Road and Spratt Road, which has seen multiple collisions due to dangerous left turns. Through the RSAP, the city installed a new median and implemented a fully protected left-turn lane, reducing the number of collisions.

Phil Landry, Ottawa's Director of Traffic Services, says the program has also had a noticeable effect on driver behaviour.

"We've seen a large reduction in high-end speeders — those going 15 km/h over the limit — from 15 per cent to less than one per cent, so that just makes our roads that much safer," says Landry. "Elgin and Laurier, that intersection is going to get rebuilt in the next year, again, to enhance cycling improvements. We also have monies allocated to other areas, like in the rural areas where we see a lot of serious injuries and fatalities because of higher speeds, and the project that we identify are based on where we're seeing those collisions occurring, especially the serious injuries and fatalities. Our goal is 2035. We want to be down to zero, so we want to focus our funding to those types of projects."

Ottawa's ASE program is set to expand further, with plans to install 80 cameras by the end of 2025, up from the current 40. The city aims to focus on school zones and community safety areas, where speeding poses a significant risk to vulnerable road users.

John Wambombo, program coordinator with Safer Roads Ottawa, says the broader goal, through public research and education, is to foster a culture of safety.

"A big component of our Road Safety Action Fund is enforcement education. To educate drivers to keep other road users safe," he says. "Like the 'Time is Precious' campaign, where we're talking to drivers to be mindful of cyclists, of pedestrians, of other road users; to be watchful when they come to an intersection; look twice and be alert. Those parts are rolled out on social media, and we do a lot of community engagement. We are out in the community speaking to cyclists, pedestrians on how they can also navigate our streets safer. That's all part of the road safety action plan. Not only are we doing the engineering modifications on our road, not only do we have enforcement and components such as the automated speed enforcement cameras and other enforcement measures, but also the education — talking to road users, speaking to drivers to be mindful of cyclists and vulnerable road users."

The program, which began in 2020, issued 220,789 speeding tickets last year, generating $14.3 million in fines, a significant increase from previous years.