Ottawa speed cameras are gone, and now speeders are back

Tim Tierney is photographed on Heron Road. City data shows a significant increase in speeding around school zones in the months since automatic speed cameras were banned by the province in November. Photo by JEAN LEVAC /POSTMEDIA

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The province’s ban on speed cameras has “significantly” affected speeding and driver behaviour at former automated speed enforcement sites, according to City of Ottawa data that shows compliance with posted speed limits dropped from 87 per cent to 41 per cent in the first three months after the cameras were removed.

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High-end speeding, where drivers are at or exceeding 15 km/h above the posted speed limit, has also increased from 0.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent since the cameras were deactivated in November.

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Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney, who chairs the public works committee and was a vocal opponent of the provincial government’s ban on speed cameras, said the spike in speeding is “exactly what many expected” when the cameras were removed.

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A five-year-old child suffered serious injuries after being struck by a car near another Barrhaven school earlier in March.

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In a separate incident, a driver was charged with dangerous operation after a two-vehicle collision outside an elementary school on Heron Road that caused one car to flip onto its roof this month.

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A two car collision on Heron Road near École élémentaire publique Marie-Curie left one car on its roof. Coun. Marty Carr said one driver had been charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle, and said there used to be a speed camera at this location. Photo by Office of Coun. Marty Carr /HANDOUT

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“You don’t want to use tragedy or situations like that to illustrate, but unfortunately, the truth is, we’ve seen (increased speeding), whether it’s somebody working a crosswalk in a tragic situation or you see cars literally flipping over,” Tierney said. “We have to find a way to slow people down, and that’s my ultimate goal. Politics aside, I’m working with the provincial government and the transportation minister to make sure I’m bringing things to the table outside of cameras in hopes that we can slow down the traffic in front of those schools.”

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Alta Vista Coun. Marty Carr posted a photo to social media of the flipped car in front of Marie-Curie elementary school, near the spot where a speed camera had previously been installed.

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The speed camera on Heron Road was installed in 2024 between Alta Vista and Baycrest Drive and issued 3,819 tickets in 2025.

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A speed camera installed on Cedarview Drive between Fallowfield and Jockvale Road — about a kilometre from the fatal crash site in Barrhaven — was activated in 2023 and nabbed 12,544 speeders last year.

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The Ontario government banned speed cameras with Bill 56 in November 2025 after Premier Doug Ford criticized the cameras as a municipal “cash grab.”

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Data compiled by city staff and set for a presentation at the public works and infrastructure committee on April 23 does not reflect the impact of new signage, which continues to be installed in school zones, according to staff.