GUELPH – Automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras are expected on Wellington County roads within the next six to nine months.
County council selected Alberta-based Global Traffic Group, following a staff recommendation, to complete a one-year pilot program that will see cameras installed in community safety and school zones along county roads by March 2025.
This past winter the county received formal proposals for the job from three vendors, including Global Traffic, Redflex Traffic Systems based in Arizona, and Truvelo Corp in Hillsburgh.
Global Traffic scored highest of the three, according to a county report, and with council’s blessing in May, contract negotiations are now underway between the county and the business.
The county declined to provide the Advertiser with Global Traffic’s bid for the job, citing “the confidential nature of the proposal, which contains proprietary information around their system/program, and confidential pricing information.”
In a publicly-available 2023 submission by Global Traffic, responding to a less formal information request from the county, the company stated it would deploy its “G3C” system here.
Global Traffic Group ASE Presentation to Wellington County June 13-compressed
The system can collect traffic counts, vehicle speeds and stopping data in real time, according to the company.
“The detailed data collected — when, where, how many, how fast, stopping behaviour at schools, playgrounds, and intersections — gives detailed insight into driver behaviour,” the submission stated.
Its “mobile” system captures two photos, a wide-angle view and another zoomed on a vehicle’s licence plate, and can be mounted in a road-side box or higher up on pole, to reduce vandalism.
The company took a swipe at the press in its submission to the county, claiming there’s a cause-and-effect relationship between news reporting on “frequent acts of vandalism” and ASE’s reputation in Ontario.
“Media reports about frequent acts of vandalism to ground-mounted photo speed enforcement units in Ontario harm ASE’s reputation,” the technology company stated, without providing evidence, attempting to understand why the press in Canada report news to the public, or the reasons behind why people are frequently vandalizing ASE systems here.
(A 2023 presentation to the county from Redflex provided suggestions on how to shape public opinion, and suggested canned responses the county could provide to inquiring residents.)
Example of a vehicle recorded by a Global Traffic Group automated speed enforcement system. Image from public agenda package
The county sought a “revenue-neutral turnkey solution for the supply, design, installation, testing, maintenance, and decommissioning of an ASE program” from companies wanting the job.
The county doesn’t intend to spend tax dollars on the program. Rather payments collected from tickets would cover the undisclosed costs.
Although not remotely comparable in scale to the county, Global Traffic provided examples from Mississauga, Brampton and Toronto suggesting fine revenue in those cities ranged between $1 and $34 million over the course of three to 26 months.
County roads committee chair and Mapleton Mayor Gregg Davidson told the Advertiser the ticketing program isn’t meant as a cash-grab, but rather a “tool to protect the public from speeding and from harm.”
ASE has been on Davidson’s radar since Global Traffic appeared before the county’s police services board around seven years ago.
“We know we don’t have enough police service personnel on the roads to deal with the amount of traffic we have,” he said.
According to Davidson, the previous iteration of council unanimously supported his 2022 motion asking the county to explore automated enforcement here.
Much of the information about the program, such as detail about how fast a vehicle needs to be travelling over the limit to generate a ticket, is intentionally being kept from residents behind closed doors.
“We don’t want that to be public,” Davidson said.
But camera locations will be openly discussed, and become apparent as soon as September, when “coming soon” signs may begin appearing, according to Davidson.
Provincial legislation currently limits ASE cameras to community safety and school zones.
The county’s nine community safety zones are established through bylaws, and were determined in the county’s 2022 Roads Master Action Plan.
Wellington County OPP and county staff meet quarterly to discuss problem speeding areas, and theoretically county councillors could create more community safety zones where ASE cameras could then be placed.
The county also has 16 school zones around where schools are located on county roads, however those zones are being reviewed prior to the rollout of the ASE program.
Exact details of negotiations between the county and Global Traffic will likely be provided to the county’s roads committee for endorsement in September, following council’s summer recess, with more reports to follow throughout the program’s rollout here.
Exactly where and when residents will begin seeing cameras is being worked out now.
“There’s still a lot of work to put in place,” Davidson said, adding the program is expected to be operational within the next six to nine months.
The “coming soon” signs are required to be posted for 90 days before ticketing can occur, the county needs sign-offs from the provincial government, and whether tickets will be handled through the courts, or outside the courts, with an “administrative monetary penalty system” has yet to be decided.
The program is set for a one-year trial run, but could be extended for five years, and expanded to include lower-tier municipal roads, where an additional 36 school zones are located.
