Waterloo Region says it has handed out tens of thousands of tickets since launching its new automated speed enforcement camera program in February.
A staff report, which will head to council next week, said that the region issued 55,899 tickets between Feb. 3 and July 31, with the median ticket amount being $108.25. Seventy-five per cent of the tickets have been mailed to area residents.
The tickets were generated from 17 active cameras, which were located in front of schools throughout the region, a number which will grow to 27 before the end of the year.
While a spokesperson for the region was unable to provide the total revenue over the first six months of the initiative, they said that the region expected to collect $9.8 million in ticket fines from the cameras in 2025.
Close to half of that money ($4.8 million) was expected to cover the costs of the program, while the remainder was earmarked for future safety initiatives.
In a release, the region touted the impact the cameras have had on speeding throughout the region, noting that drivers have taken their foot off the pedal by an average of 15 km/hr.
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It noted that 57 per cent of drivers comply with the posted speed limit, but there have been two million speeding instances over the first six months of the cameras being in place.
The region says it launched the initiative as a safety measure in school zones, as studies have shown that slower speeds will lead to less serious injuries.
The report from staff offers more info about the various cameras across Waterloo Region, with the most active cameras all being located in Kitchener.
The camera posted in front of Sandhills Public School and St. Dominic Savio Catholic School on Victoria Street has witnessed 242,580 speeding incidents and issued 9,096 tickets.
While that was the highest number, the camera was also installed on March 27, whereas two other hotspots were in front of Laurentian Public School on Westmount Road and Sunnyside Public School on Weber Street, which were not activated until May 12 and June 23, respectively.
The camera in front of Laurentian witnessed 165,030 people driving above the speed limit between May 12 and July 31.
The camera in front of Sunnyside was in operation just over a month and saw 165,030 speeders while issuing an astonishing 5,733 tickets.
On the opposite end of the spectrum were a couple of cameras, which were posted in North Dumfries in May.
One in front of Cedar Creek Public School on Hilltop Drive in Ayr witnessed 5,200 speeders but handed out just 16 tickets, while another camera in front of St. Brigid Catholic Elementary School saw 5,870 speeders and doled out 27 tickets.
While the numbers were lower in these two locations, there were some wilder numbers that popped up in other townships.
The region listed the top speeds. One in front of New Dundee Public School recorded a driver’s speed topping out at 174 km/h in a 40 km/h zone.
Nine other cameras in the area clocked drivers speeding at more than 100 km/h in school zones as well.
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