Report to city council committee highlights sharp rise in speeding, collisions at Edmonton intersections

A new report lists a variety of reasons drivers feel unsafe on Edmonton streets, including distracted driving, speeding, and too many construction signs.

A report slated to be discussed Tuesday by an Edmonton city council committee says a rise in severe collisions in recent years are at intersections where speed limits are higher.

And the Safe Mobility Strategy 2027-30 report to the urban planning committee says driver behaviour “is a key factor,” including more “higher-risk speeding” that has been recorded since the province restricted the use of enforcement cameras at intersections.

In April last year, the Alberta government restricted intersection cameras to red-light enforcement only, while limiting photo radar speed enforcement to school, playground and construction zones, and banning photo radar on all provincial highways and connectors.

In 2024, the province announced it wanted to ensure photo radar was “used for traffic safety rather than revenue generation,” with Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshan calling automated enforcement a “cash cow” while saying the cuts wouldn’t be a safety risk.

The safe mobility report found that, since the removal of the automated enforcement at intersections, the number of fatal and serious collisions at them increased by 83 per cent last year. It also said that:

• the number of vehicles travelling more than 20 kilometres per hour over the speed limit have risen by 134 per cent;
• the number of drivers receiving more than one red-light ticket in 2025 rose by 38 per cent year over year;
• most collisions involve driver error, with drivers identified as at fault in 86 per cent of cases; and
• most pedestrian serious outcomes occur at intersections, with 67 per cent of pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries happening at them.

Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack said Monday “the data is clear” that speeding has risen “to an unsafe level” after almost a decade of declines. He wants the province to reconsider its decision to scrap several of the city’s and other municipalities’ photo radar enforcement tools.

“Maybe that decision was made a bit hastily,” Knack told media. “The data suggests now that we should bring this back, because that is a critical tool to make sure you’re actually saving lives ... This was never a cash cow. This is about actual enforcement for people’s actions. We need to make sure we have all the tools available to us to make sure we’re seeing real reductions in the people dying on our streets due to high speeds.”

Among the suggested responses to the increases in speeding and fatal/serious collisions in the updated strategy, it recommends working within provincial guidelines to add more red-light enforcement locations and to talk to the province about the potential for the return of speed-on-green and playground zone camera enforcement.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Curtis Goodrum