• Council will decide on next steps for establishing a municipal Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) camera program at their March 6, 2024 meeting.
  • According to Mayor Lovatt, Stouffville is considering an initial purchase of around 20 cameras for use on municipal roads, with more possibly coming next year.
  • Changes in how ASE tickets can be processed, compared to York Region’s pilot program we covered last year, have reduced associated operating costs.
  • Stouffville would partner with the Town of Newmarket, which is establishing a ticket processing centre as part of its own ASE plans.
  • Staff hope to see operational ASE cameras on Stouffville streets by the end of the year.
  • York Region’s ASE program will continue along Regional roads.

 

The majority of deadly collisions on York Region roads involve speeding, and ASE programs have proven effective in reducing speeds and fatal collisions. York Region’s pilot saw average reductions of 10 km/h and a 35% increase in speed limit adherence within school zones. New York City’s 140-camera pilot reduced speeding by 63% and pedestrian injuries by 23%, and a Saskatchewan pilot saw a 63% drop in speed-related casualties.

With Council approval, Stouffville would be the first York Region municipality partnering with Newmarket and their Joint Processing Centre (JPC). According to the related Staff Report, the JPC will manage data collected by ASE cameras, process violations, facilitate the payment of fines, and assist with disputes. Staff also believe that such a partnership would allow the Town to have an ASE program up and running by the end of 2024.

Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act states that Automated Speed Enforcement cameras can only be deployed in school and community safety zones. While residents regularly highlight dangerous stretches of roadways due to speeding at public meetings and in communications to Council members, many locations do not fall within current community safety zones.

Beyond assessing existing zones, Stouffville will look to identify new community safety zones which could be implemented to maximize opportunities for ASE camera deployment and address as many problem areas as possible. “I’ve joked that if we could make the whole Town a Community Safety Zone, we would,” Lovatt commented at a Town Hall meeting on March 4.

Costs and projected revenues continue to be assessed, and Staff will have access to camera vendor information through a Memorandum of Understanding with Newmarket. However, at last night’s Town Hall meeting, Mayor Lovatt noted that they are seeing camera prices climbing significantly year over year.

“It is cheaper for us to buy cameras right out of the gate because prices go up exponentially each year, so my hope is we will put an order in for at least 20 [cameras] to start,” Lovatt told attendees. “We’ll maybe put in another order at the end of this year or the start of next year before the prices are jacked up again.”

Recent Provincial policy changes now allow for the processing of ASE tickets under a municipal Administrative Monetary Penalties System (AMPS). This replaces the previous method of processing offences through Ontario’s court system, which can be costly and result in delays due to the high number of tickets needing to be issued.

Instead, AMPS allows municipalities to treat ASE tickets the same way they would by-law tickets and non-criminal municipal fines. Processing through AMPS connects offences to the vehicle owner and not the driver, linking tickets to the address of the plate holder and their tax account. While demerit points are therefore not at play for offending drivers, unpaid tickets could result in the cancellation of a vehicle’s license plate.

The combination of AMPS and Newmarket’s JPC would reduce ASE operating expenses, facilitating cost recovery for Stouffville’s program. Combined with the high frequency of ticketing regularly seen with ASE, it can also lead to eventual profits. Newmarket, who recently approved 14 cameras, expects an estimated $2 million in annual net returns. While Stouffville has not conducted a complete financial analysis in this early stage, Staff believe the investment will be “favourable to the Town.”

Should Stouffville move ahead with Council’s approval, the final number of cameras and where they could be placed will be presented in a report for Council consideration at a future date.

*Cover image sourced from a 2023 York Region presentation to Council