Fifty speed radar cameras could be installed in Toronto neighbourhoods as soon as December.
The Automated Speed Enforcement program would see the cameras installed at two locations in each of the city’s 25 wards. Staff would determine the locations based on traffic data.
On Thursday, city staff told Toronto's Infrastructure and Environment Committee that drivers caught speeding would receive a ticket in the mail two to three weeks later.
"By and large, most people obey the speed limits and drive appropriately in Toronto," said Councillor Brad Bradford. "But for those who don’t, there's going to be a fine, you’re going to get a ticket, and that’s hopefully going to curb the behaviour."
City staff pointed to the effectiveness of the program in school zones. In New York City, traffic fatalities near schools with speed radar cameras were reduced by more than half.
The program, if adopted by city council, would be fully cost-recoverable through fines and processing fee revenue beginning in 2020.
Staff recommended that $2.1 million be spent on new courtrooms to handle the expected increase in disputes related to speeding fines, but they estimate the program will be fully cost-recoverable through fine and processing fee revenue beginning in 2020.
The city expects to net $11 million a year in revenue from the program, but staff stressed that is not the point of the program.
"This is wholly, foundationally, about road safety," Deputy City Manager Tracey Cook told CTV News Toronto. "It’s not about racking up tickets, it’s not about revenue. It’s about educating the public."
Once the cameras are installed, transportation staff said that the city should launch a public information campaign and offer warning letter period.
The committee passed the plan to council for final approval and asked city staff to provide more information on the technology that would be used and suggested privacy measures.
