Photo radar coming in July to streets near Ottawa schools
Pilot will mean automatic tickets for those caught speeding
In a few weeks, photo radar designed to catch speeding drivers will finally arrive on Ottawa's streets.
The pilot project to install speed cameras near a dozen Ottawa schools was scheduled to start in March, but was put on hold as schools were closed during the pandemic.
Those cameras will now appear on July 13, after city council approved the rollout at its Wednesday meeting.
The project was also delayed over the past couple of years as the city waited for provincial regulations to come through. Last fall, the city settled on installing the cameras in the following eight areas:
- Watters Road, near St. Francis of Assisi School.
- Longfields Drive, near École élémentaire catholique Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau, St. Mother Teresa High School and Longfields-Davidson Heights Secondary School.
- Bayshore Drive, near St. Rose of Lima School.
- Meadowlands Drive W., near St. Gregory School.
- Ogilvie Road, near Gloucester High School.
- Smyth Road, near Vincent Massey Public School, Hillcrest High School and École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité.
- Innes Road, near École secondaire catholique Béatrice-Desloges.
- Katimavik Road, near Holy Trinity Catholic High School.
Coun. Tim Tierney, who chairs the city's transportation committee, said the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how people walk and cycle in the daytime, while drivers are also going faster.
"There's certainly ... quite a bit more speeding," said Tierney, adding he hoped the cameras would help solve the problem.
Fines will be based on how much the driver was speeding beyond the limit when photographed, and those fines will be double the normal penalty given the cameras are located in community safety zones.
Tickets will be mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle's plate within about 30 days.
The city already has installed cameras to catch drivers who disobey red lights.
