TORONTO – Legislation will be announced this fall to put an end to municipal speed cameras. Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the announcement September 25.
Calling the speed cameras a cash grab, Ford said all levels of government should do what each can to lower costs and improve affordability.
“Enough is enough,” Ford exclaimed at the announcement. “Instead of making life more expensive by sending speeding tickets to drivers weeks after the fact, we’re supporting road-safety measures that will prevent speeding in the first place, keep costs down and keep our streets safe.”
The government will introduce a bill when the legislature resumes sitting October 17 to ban municipal speed cameras.
As an alternative, the province will create a new fund for municipalities to access for speed reduction methods. This includes speed bumps, new signage, curb extensions, and public education campaigns.
While some mayors supported the removal of the cameras, several organizations including the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police supported the use of Automated Speed Enforcement cameras. While ASEs will be outlawed, there will be no changes to legislation allowing a similar system on bus stop arms. The Ministry of Transportation confirmed that stop arm cameras, which record and report drivers who pass stopped school buses illegally, is not affected by the ban.
“Speed cameras do not impact existing measures already in place- those standards remain the same,” said Dakota Brasier with Transportation Ministry.
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