Residents in Sudbury asking for speed cameras in their neighbourhoods

City staff in Greater Sudbury have received numerous requests from residents to have automated speed enforcement cameras set up in their neighbourhoods.

The number of requests prompted staff to create a ranking for which streets should be the priority when deciding where to locate the cameras next.

The report on the speed cameras, as well as the city's red light cameras, is headed to the operations committee Nov. 18.

The cameras were first deployed in March of this year "and saw a significant decrease in operating speeds while the units were operational," the report said.

Not only did the cameras reduce average speeds while they were in place, speeds remained lower three months after the cameras were moved, compared to before the cameras were installed.

However, that isn't the case for all the streets. The average speed on Falconbridge Road before the cameras was 79 km/h. That dropped to 63 km/h while the cameras were in place, but went back to 79 km/h after the cameras were moved.

“During the first round of deployment a total of 2,295 tickets were issued for speeding offences,” the report said.

“The second round of locations had ASE cameras installed in August 2024 and have also seen a significant decrease in operation speeds while the units are currently deployed.”

Garson Coniston Road

The cameras have had the biggest impact on the Garson Coniston Road, where speeds dropped from 75 km/h to 55 km/h, and on MR80, where speeds dropped from 84 km/h to 63 km/h.

By the end of August, the second round of camera deployments resulted in 3,036 tickets. The next deployment takes place in January and includes Second Avenue, Hawthorne Drive, Countryside Drive, Loach’s Road, Notre Dame Street West and Valleyview Road.

In addition, the city has six red light cameras deployed at busy intersections such as Paris and Cedar streets and Lasalle Boulevard and Montrose Avenue.

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Since the start of the program in September 2022 and August of this year, 9,105 tickets have been issued, peaking in May 2023. The lowest month for tickets is January, partly because winter conditions force people to drive slower, and partly because snow often covers the roadway, impeding camera photos.

“Overall, however, a significant reduction in tickets being issued in 2024 versus 2023 can be seen,” the report said.

“A lower instance of tickets being issued directly results from (fewer) motorists running the red light and therefore eliminating the potential for a collision to occur when doing so.”

Read the full report here.