The City of Greater Sudbury will deactivate its six speed cameras on November 14, coinciding with the Ontario prohibition on these traffic-calming devices. Initially introduced in March 2024, the mobile cameras changed locations every few months. In the same year, they generated $750,000 in revenue, which the city allocated to other traffic-calming initiatives and road enhancements like speed bumps.
Joe Rocca, the city’s director of linear infrastructure services, anticipates the cameras will yield $2.4 million in revenue by mid-November 2025 before being shut down. Despite their controversial nature, often being toppled over, Rocca stated that the cameras effectively reduced speeding in their designated areas, raising awareness about the consequences of speeding on those roads.
Regarding alternatives to speed cameras, Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria mentioned that the province would collaborate with municipalities in the following weeks to explore additional traffic-calming options. However, Greater Sudbury has not received details on these measures from the province yet.
Rocca expressed the city’s readiness to participate in any forthcoming programs and implement traffic-calming measures on suitable roadways. He highlighted that speed cameras prove beneficial in locations where traditional methods like speed bumps are impractical due to higher speed limits. Currently, discussions are ongoing with the speed camera provider to terminate the existing contract, as the provincial legislation safeguards municipalities from financial losses resulting from the speed camera ban.