Midland’s short-lived speed camera program brought in over $500K, mayor says

Midland Mayor Bill Gordon defends speed camera program in recent post on his website.

Midland Mayor Bill Gordon says the town’s short-lived speed camera program not only brought in significant revenue, but also showed clear signs it was changing driver behaviour before the province shut it down.

The town’s automated speed enforcement pilot ran from Sept. 2 to Nov. 13, and according to Gordon, generated more than $500,000 in gross fines. He says the town issued 4,348 penalty orders during that time, all from a single active camera on William Street. A second camera on Yonge Street never went live because of ongoing reconstruction work.

The mayor says the dissolved program still produced early evidence drivers were slowing down. He says data collected between Sept. 2 and Oct. 31 showed a 39 per cent drop in speeding incidents, from 6,759 to 4,108. The highest recorded speed fell from 103 km/h to 84 km/h and the average speed dropped from 57 km/h to 54 km/h.

After covering program costs, capital loan repayment, reduced fine amounts following appeals and unpaid fines, he expects the net amount to land between $200,000 and $270,000. As of the end of October, the town had already collected just over $215,000, with November’s figures still to come. Gordon says all revenue will go directly toward community safety and traffic calming measures, easing the burden on property taxpayers.

The Midland mayor was among several leaders across Simcoe County hoping to change the premier’s mind about banning the photo radar program. Premier Doug Ford previously criticized municipal use of the cameras, calling them a “cash grab.”

Shortly after, and despite the push-back, the province hit the brakes on the program across Ontario, bringing it to an abrupt end on Nov. 14.

Gordon says the decision cut short a pilot that was showing promising improvements in road safety. Despite the shutdown, he maintains the revenue collected will still support measures intended to slow drivers and improve safety in Midland neighbourhoods.