City of Toronto says it will remove all speed cameras by end of November

One week after Ontario’s speed camera ban came into effect, the City of Toronto says all devices should be down by the end of the month. 

The city confirmed to Now Toronto on Friday that it’s currently in the process of removing all 150 of its cameras, and says any devices that are still up are no longer capturing violations either. 

The move comes after the Ontario government’s controversial Bill 56 kicked in last Friday, which banned automated speed enforcement cameras, where Premier Doug Ford previously called them a “cash grab.” The province said it would instead shift to alternative traffic-calming measures in hopes of protecting taxpayers. 

The province said tickets handed out after Nov. 14 would not be enforceable, though tickets issued before then are still valid.

The city also emphasized that there is no additional cost to taxpayers for the takedown process, as the cost is built into the contract with the vendor.

The government’s decision has faced plenty of pushback from advocacy groups and local officials who have argued the cameras are essential in helping reduce dangerous speeding. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has also spoken out against the removal, urging that eliminating the speed cameras could cost the city around 1,000 jobs.

Last week, the province announced a $210-million investment through the Road Safety Initiatives Fund (RSIF) for municipalities. The funding will go towards helping municipalities build and install new road safety measures, including speed bumps, raised crosswalks, roundabouts, enhanced signage, and increased police enforcement.