3 photo radar cameras in Stittsville the targets of vandals this year

A new photo radar camera has been installed on King Edward Avenue at Bruyere Street. The camera issued 7,500 speeding tickets in its first month of operation. (CTV News Ottawa)

Three photo radar cameras in Stittsville have been the target of vandals so far this year, with the cameras either broken or covered by a sticker.

The City of Ottawa has 60 photo radar cameras installed in school zones, community safety zones and so-called “high-speed” areas on roads across the city.

City staff tell CTV News Ottawa there have been seven reports of vandalism targeting automated speed enforcement cameras this year, with three cameras vandalized.

Here is a look at the locations of the photo radar cameras damaged by vandals in 2025 and the damage reported.

• Stittsville Main Street near Hobin Street. The camera glass was covered by a sticker.
• Abbott Street East near Shea Road. The camera class was covered by a sticker
• Abbott Street East near Shea Road. Camera broken, according to city staff.
• Stittsville Main Street near Bandelier Way. The camera glass was covered by a sticker.
• Stittsville Main Street near Hobin Street. Staff say the camera’s glass was covered by a sticker.
• Abbott Street East near Shea Road. Camera glass covered by duct tape
• Stittsville Main Street near Hobin Street. The camera’s glass, lens and flash were damaged.

Staff say the cameras were repaired and returned to operation the same day.

Three red light cameras have been damaged so far in 2025, with two of the cameras offline for more than 15 days for repairs.

“The City’s automated speed enforcement camera vendor conducts regular inspections and is responsible for maintaining the cameras in proper working order, including addressing instances of vandalism,” Kunjan Ghimire, program manager of automated enforcement programs, said in a statement.

“When incidents do occur, the vendor responds quickly to ensure the cameras return to operation as soon as possible. It is worth noting that red-light cameras are generally mounted higher and closer to intersections, making them more difficult to access. Any instances of vandalism are reported by the vendor directly to the Ottawa Police Service.”

A total of 190,439 speeding tickets were issued through the automated speed enforcement camera program in the January to July period.

In Toronto, at least 16 cameras were damaged by vandals on Tuesday. There have been more than 800 reported incidents of vandalism involving speed cameras in Toronto this year.

The Ontario government is telling municipalities to remove the automated speed enforcement cameras or the government will take steps to scrap them this fall.

With files from CTV News Toronto