Number of collisions in Sudbury has spiked since 2021

Greater Sudbury's annual road safety report goes to operations committee Monday and Lyndsay Aelick has some of the highlights.

The total number of road crashes in Greater Sudbury increased from 1,564 in 2021 to 2,302 in 2025, although the number of fatal crashes has been trending downward.

That’s according to statistics headed to the city’s operations committee meeting April 20, which takes a deep dive into traffic and collision trends from the past five years.

The month that has averaged the highest number of collisions in the past five years is February (1,218), followed by November (1,194) and January (1,166).

April reported the fewest crashes on average (760), followed by July (827) and August (834). The most common day of the week for a collision was Friday (2,006), with Sunday (986) reporting the fewest.

And between 5 and 6 p.m. was the most common time for a collision to occur. While most crashes take place on roads where the speed limit is 50-60 km an hour – the most common limit in Sudbury – more fatalities per capita happen on roads where the speed limit is between 70 and 80 km/h.

“This shows that while fewer collisions happen on higher-speed roads, the ones that do occur are more likely to be serious because higher speeds greatly increase the force of impact,” the report said.

Six red light cameras

The number of fatalities was four last year, down from seven in 2024.

The city has had six red light cameras in operation since September 2022, and has issued 14,424 tickets in that time.

After declining in 2024, the number of tickets surged last year.

“The number of tickets issued in 2025 has increased by approximately 17 per cent, whereas the number of right-angle collisions at the six intersections has risen by approximately 36 per cent,” the report said.

“As previously noted, staff will continue to monitor collision rates at these intersections to determine whether the increases observed represent emerging trends or single-year anomalies resulting from extenuating factors.”

The intersection of Paris and Cedar streets has the most red-light camera infractions, accounting for “1,840 of the 4,264 tickets issued in 2025,” the report said.

“In response, staff installed an additional mast-arm-mounted red-light camera sign … to supplement the existing ground-mounted warning signs. This added signage is intended to increase driver awareness of the enforcement zone and reinforce the requirement to stop at a red signal.”

Pedestrian, cycling infrastructure

The report also includes information on new pedestrian crossings, as well as details of the 5.54 kilometres of cycling tracks that have been added on Wilma Street, Elm Street and David Street.

In addition, the report said the now-outlawed automatic speed enforcement cameras were effective both in reducing speeds in targeted areas, as well as raising revenue to fund traffic calming measures.

“This ban took effect on Nov. 14, 2025, resulting in the removal of all six mobile speed cameras operated by the city,” the report said.

“In place of the program, the province announced one-time road safety funding for affected municipalities.”

Read the full report here.