This was Ottawa's busiest photo radar camera last year

The photo radar camera set up near Holy Trinity Catholic High School in Kanata was the hot spot for speeders in Ottawa last year.

The automated speed enforcement camera on Katimavik Road, between Castlefrank Road and Curran Street, issued 16,736 speeding tickets in 2021, the most of any of the photo radar cameras set up in the city.

"To me, what I really want these cameras to do is not catch anybody," Kanata Coun. Allan Hubley said Thursday. "I'd be happy if everybody would just slow down."

The Katimavik-Hazeldean Community Association notes Katimavik Road is a busy street in Kanata.

"There are a lot of people blowing through stop signs," association vice-president Matthew Brearey says.

"We’ve got traffic coming from Costco and Home Depot and there’s a great exit off of Castlefrank to get back on the 417 and many people will use that as an alternative to get back onto the highway."

New statistics show Ottawa's eight photo radar cameras issued 80,944 tickets for speeding in 2021. Last week, the city of Ottawa said 13 per cent of speeding incidents captured through automated speed enforcement were not registered because the tickets were not mailed out within the 23-day window.

The photo radar camera on Ogilvie Road, between Appleford Street and Elmlea Gate, issued the second most tickets in 2021, at 15,616 tickets. 

The photo radar camera on Smyth Road, near CHEO and the Ottawa Hospital, nabbed 10,772 speeders between January and December.

Here is a look at the tickets issued by the automated speed enforcement cameras in 2021, according to the city of Ottawa's open data.

1. Katimavik Road between Castlefrank and Curran Street – 16,736 tickets
2. Ogilvie Road between Appleford Street and Elmlea Gate – 15,616 tickets
3. Smyth Road between Haig Drive and Edgecomb Street – 10,772 tickets
4. Longfields Drive between Highbury Park Drive and Via Verona Avenue – 10,533 tickets
5. Bayshore Drive near 50 Bayshore Drive – 9,904 tickets
6. Meadowlands Drive West between Winthrow Avenue and Thatcher Street – 7,659 tickets
7. Watters Drive between Charlemagne Boulevard and Roberval Avenue – 6,235 tickets
8. Innes Road between Provence Avenue and Trim Road – 4,142 tickets

"Sometimes I'm just driving along, following the flow of traffic and I don't realize how fast I'm going," said Bonnie Bouliane, who received a ticket for speeding on Katimavik.

"We looked at (the ticket) and there's a picture of my car on Katimavik and I was like, 'Oh my God.'"

Last week, the city of Ottawa said thousands of motorists escaped penalty for speeding because the photo radar tickets were not mailed out in time.

Mayor Jim Watson said the centre that processes automated speed enforcement infractions "continues to struggle with the processing" of the automated speed enforcement camera tickets, and the tickets were not mailed out within the 23 day deadline.

"In 2021, 13 per cent of the City of Ottawa's speeding incidents captured through Automated Speed Enforcement were not able to be processed within the limitation period, which amounted to a loss of in revenue of approximately $1.1 million for the City," Watson said in a letter to Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney.

The city of Ottawa launched the automated speed enforcement program in July 2020.  Between July 2020 and July 2021, 101,778 tickets were issued for speeding at the eight locations across Ottawa, netting $5.4 million in revenue.

In October, council approved a plan to install 15 new automated speed enforcement cameras by the end of 2022. Three new photo radar cameras have been installed so far this year. The locations are:

• Alta Vista Drive between Ayers Avenue and Ridgemont Avenue
• Bearbrook Road between Centrepark Drive and Innes Road
• Greenbank Road between Harrison Street and Banner Road.

Some motorists call the photo radar cameras a cash grab. Hubley says that would only be accurate if they started showing up in non-school zones.

"All the money collected from tickets from school zones goes right back into traffic calming the streets of the community."

Some drivers say the automated speed enforcement cameras should only be active during school hours, but the city says that's not possible.

"We can't send somebody out to change the timing of these cameras, and the cameras aren't remotely calibrated. It's done by an individual that comes out."