Municipal Speed Cameras

Automated Speed Enforcement is a road safety measure described under the Highway Traffic Act, which uses a camera and a speed measurement device to enforce speed limits and help make roads safer for all road users. The cameras are triggered by speed sensors that take photographs of the license plates of vehicles that are travelling over the posted speed limit. The images are reviewed for confirmation and then a ticket is issued to the owner of the vehicle.  

• With speed a factor in approximately one in four fatal collisions in Canada, speed cameras help to enforce speed limits and reduce the risk of serious collisions.
• Speed cameras are an important reminder to drivers to slow down in areas frequently used by children and other vulnerable road users.
• Drivers travelling at the posted limit are more likely able to stop in the case of a spontaneous event and a lower speed can also mean a less severe outcome.
• Creating safe and comfortable environments for people to get around by walking, cycling, or rolling results in health, social, economic and environmental benefits for individuals and communities. 
• Low vehicle speeds produce less traffic noise, less vehicle emissions, and contribute to making neighbourhoods calmer and more appealing for people to be active in their communities and use active forms of transportation to get around.

Provincial legislation allows municipalities to use speed cameras only in school zones and community safety zones. Municipal Speed Cameras In Use signs are posted in the area where the cameras are active. During the first phase of the program there were 2 active speed cameras rotating among 16 locations across the Region.

Speeding tickets have been issued to vehicles travelling over the speed limit at any of the 16 rotating locations while the camera was active at that location. Signs are posted at the camera locations to indicate to drivers that a Municipal Speed Camera is in use. Any new cameras installed will not be rotated; they will remain active at fixed locations.

The following school zones currently have Municipal Speed Cameras installed:

• Bluevale Collegiate Institute/St. Agnes Catholic Elementary School, Bluevale St N, Waterloo 
• Elgin Street Public School, Elgin Street, Cambridge
• Foundation Christian School, Katherine Street, West Montrose 
• MacGregor Public School, Central Street, Waterloo
• New Dundee Public School, Bridge Street, New Dundee
• Sir Adam Beck Public School, Snyder's Road, Baden
• St. Clement Catholic Elementary School, Lobsinger Line, St. Clements
• St. Nicholas Catholic School, Laurelwood Drive, Waterloo
• Sandhills Public School/St. Dominic Savio Catholic Elementary School, Victoria Street, Kitchener
• Wellesley Public School, Queen's Bush Road, Wellesley 

Coming Soon

The following locations previously had a rotating camera during our pilot program and will be back in use as fixed camera locations starting the week of May 5, 2025: 

• Clearview Mennonite School, Three Bridges Road, Elmira 
• Cedar Creek Public School, Hilltop Drive, Ayr  
• St. Brigid Catholic School, Broom Street, Ayr  
• Keatsway Public School, Keats Way, Waterloo 

The following locations will have speed cameras in use starting the week of May 12, 2025: 

• Forest Glen Public School, Waterloo Street, New Hamburg (new) 
• Laurentian Public School, Westmount Road, Kitchener (returning) 
• St. Gabriel Catholic School, Guelph Ave, Cambridge (returning) 
• St. Peter Catholic School, Avenue Road, Cambridge (new) 
• Sunnyside Public School, Weber St E, Kitchener (new) 

• Municipal Speed Cameras operate 24/7. The posted speed limit is the law no matter what time of day or time of year it is. Consistency in the application of the law helps to ensure consistency in driver behaviour.
• Observing the posted speed limits 24hrs per day and 7 days per week in school safety zones, will ensure that drivers are not issued a ticket under the Municipal Speed Camera program.

The owners of the motor vehicle are responsible for the speeding ticket. When the ticket is settled, vehicle owners will not be subject to demerit points. 

Vehicle owners have the following options:

• Pay the ticket. There are several options available to pay tickets including: online payment, In-person payment, payment by mail. Please visit the Administrative Penalties Program page for more information or pay direct online through the online payment platform.
• Request a review. You can appeal your penalty order by requesting a review of the penalty order by a Screening Officer within 30 days of the deemed service date, found on the Penalty Order.  Please visit the Administrative Penalties Program page for more information or visit the online platform to submit a request for review.

Effective February 3, 2025, speeding tickets issued by a Municipal Speed Camera are administered under an Administrative Penalties program and are no longer processed through the Provincial Offences court office. Payment options are outlined on the ticket (called a penalty order) and include options to pay online, by phone, by mail, or in person.

• If you are the owner of a motor vehicle that travels above the speed limit in a school zone where a speed camera is in use, you will receive a ticket, called a penalty order, in the mail.
• Similar to red-light camera tickets, a photograph of the vehicle that was speeding will be on the penalty order along with an enlargement of the vehicle’s license plate. The location of where and when the speeding offence occurred, as well as the speed of the vehicle and the posted speed limit will also be on the ticket.

• Municipal Speed Cameras at fixed locations that operate 24/7 provide a longer term approach to consistently alter drivers’ behaviour in critical locations used frequently by vulnerable road users, such as children.
• Municipal Speed Cameras are an additional tool to improve driver compliance with posted speed limits and allow police to concentrate on more time-sensitive issues. 

• Speed cameras are as accurate as traditional police radar guns. 

Road signs are posted to ensure the public knows where Municipal Speed Cameras are located. These visual cues prompt motorists to exercise caution and comply with the prescribed safety measures. 

• The Highway Traffic Act only allows for Municipal Speed Cameras to be installed in school zones and community safety zones. 
• The Region will be expanding Municipal Speed Cameras to all eligible school locations by the end of 2028 with a phased approach to implementation.

• Municipal Speed Camera sites are identified using a two-step selection process. The first step is to allocate the number of new municipal speed camera sites to each area municipality within the Region, based on the number of schools within each municipality. The second step, completed in collaboration with staff from the area municipalities, is to identify eligible school zones in each municipality.  

• Locations are selected through a site selection model that evaluates a series of safety risk factors to assess the suitability of each individual site. Each site is then assessed to determine if there are clear sightlines for the camera equipment to function properly. 

• The Highway Traffic Act only allows for Municipal Speed Cameras to be installed in school zones and community safety zones.  
• The Region will be expanding Municipal Speed Cameras to all eligible school locations by the end of 2028. 
• There will be a phased-in approach to implementation, with new speed cameras added each year after being assessed through a site selection model that evaluates a series of safety risk factors and determines if there are clear sightlines for the camera equipment to function properly. 

• If a vehicle exceeds the posted speed limit in a school zone operating with a municipal speed camera, the camera captures an image that is stored and reviewed by a provincial offences officer. 
• The information captured includes the posted speed limit, the speed of the vehicle, the location, the time of day, and the license plate of the vehicle.
• The camera does not capture an image of the driver, only the vehicle. There is no video captured by the camera. Only still images are captured that focus on the placement of the vehicle, type of vehicle and the license plate.

• The data collected by the speed camera is encrypted and transferred through an automated cloud-based data transfer to the Region’s software. Only a designated provincial offences officer has access to the system. 

Fines for speeding are set by the Province and outlined in the Highway Traffic Act. A speeding ticket issued by a police officer includes demerit points. Receiving demerit points impacts the driver’s record and insurance, and ultimately can be much more costly than the ticket fine itself. A ticket issued by a speed camera is a fine only – there is no impact on the driver’s record.  

The fine schedule (Table 1) is outlined in Ontario Regulation 355/22 and is followed by every other municipality in the province that currently issues camera-based speeding tickets.

Table 1: Fine amounts for speeding tickets issued by a speed camera, as set by the Highway Traffic Act, Ontario Regulation 355/22 (Administrative Penalties program):

Table 2: Examples of total calculated fine amount, including fine, victim surcharge and administrative cost, as set by the Highway Traffic Act

• The Region (not the camera vendor) is responsible for issuing speeding tickets and the Region collects and retains all fees collected from speeding tickets.    
• Any surplus revenue generated from municipal speed cameras (over and above all operating and capital costs) will be deposited into the Road Safety Reserve Fund.
• The reserve will be used for initiatives designed at improving safety for all road users in the Region, such as Township traffic calming, roadway re-design projects, and the roundabout pedestrian safety pilot program.  

• Regional Council has approved a plan to develop a strategy for identifying and implementing a community safety zone designation on Regional roads that meet eligibility criteria, including an assessment of risk factors. This includes analysis of data such as traffic levels, pedestrian levels, collision history, land use and more. 
• The community safety zone designation can be added to roads that do not qualify as a school zone under the Highway Traffic Act, such as a back entrance of a school that has pedestrian access but does not have a vehicle entrance.  
• Community safety zones can also add additional protection to areas with higher pedestrian and cycle traffic, such as childcare centres, parks, sports fields or retirements homes, or near a location that is prone to traffic accidents.  
• Staff will bring forward a report to Council with recommendations on the locations for community safety zones. This will include a recommendation for legacy sites on Regional roads to be designated as community safety zones. 

• Additional speed camera locations will be activated in Winter 2025 and full implementation to all locations will be completed in 2028.  
• The Region will be implementing a community safety zone designation on Regional roads that meet eligibility criteria, including an assessment of risk factors. This includes analysis of data such as traffic levels, pedestrian levels, collision history, land use and more. 
• The community safety zone designation can be added to roads that do not qualify as a school zone under the Highway Traffic Act, such as a back entrance of a school that has pedestrian access but does not have a vehicle entrance.  
• Community safety zones can also add additional protection to areas with higher pedestrian and cycle traffic, such as childcare centres, parks, sports fields or retirements homes, or near a location that is prone to traffic accidents.