More drivers speeding in Ottawa school zones after Ontario speed camera ban: report

A report from the City of Ottawa says more drivers are speeding past the limit in certain school zones after speed cameras were banned by the province late last year.

Data collected at eight school sites where Ottawa first piloted its speed camera program in 2020 shows there’s been a steady decline in motorists obeying the speed limit since the speed camera ban.

The report says drivers stuck to the speed limit 87 per cent of the time under the eyes of speed cameras, but 12 weeks after they were removed, just 41 per cent were driving at the mandated speed.

The report also found a four per cent uptick in high-end speeding, defined as travelling 15 km/h above the limit, over the same period.

The province banned the use of speed cameras after Premier Doug Ford called them a “cash grab” because of the revenue they generate for municipalities.

The City of Ottawa report notes new signage required at school zones under the legislation has yet to be installed and more speeding data will be available once traffic-calming signs are up.

Ford’s government said last year it would earmark $210 million for municipalities to implement traffic-calming measures in lieu of speed cameras.

The premier has said speed cameras don’t work to slow drivers down, but evidence collected by municipalities and Hospital for Sick Children researchers found they do.

Interim Liberal leader John Fraser said Ontarians, including kids and seniors, are not as safe on the roads as they were a year ago.

“That’s what we said was going to happen,” he said of the Ottawa speeding report.

By Kathryn Mannie

— With files from Allison Jones