Vaughan hits pause on speed camera program citing rollout concerns from residents

Speed cameras are coming to 10 locations across Vaughan in March.

The City of Vaughan is temporarily suspending fines from their brand-new speed cameras amid a “spike” in calls from residents seeking to appeal the penalties and several acts of vandalism.

Mayor Steven Del Duca says the city will stop issuing fines until at least September, following a council vote last week. Instead, only warning notices will be sent out while staff review how the Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) program was implemented.

Since the cameras were activated in March, a city report says more than 32,000 tickets have been issued, with nearly 13,000 in the first week alone. The city says the cameras have helped reduce average speeds by nearly 20 per cent across all locations.

“We’ve heard your concerns loud and clear about the way the program was implemented,” Del Duca wrote in a social media post last week. “We’re committed to getting it right, prioritizing safety while ensuring the program is fair to everyone.”

Which locations saw the biggest surge?

Over three weeks, Vaughan issued 32,006 tickets from its 10 ASE cameras. The vast majority came from just six locations, including:

• New Westminster Drive: 9,877 tickets
• Kipling Avenue: 6,004 tickets
• Ansley Grove Road: 5,116 tickets
• Melville Avenue: 4,772 tickets
• Peter Rupert Avenue: 2,564 tickets
• Hilda Avenue: 2,122 tickets

New Westminster Drive, where the posted limit is 40 km/h, saw an average speed of 56 km/h, with one vehicle clocked at 97 km/h. The fastest speed recorded across all sites was 145 km/h — caught on Peter Rupert Avenue, which alone has issued over 2,500 tickets.

So far, fewer than 40 per cent of all tickets issued have been paid. As of last Wednesday, only 12,252 were settled, leaving more than 18,000 unpaid.

Potential solutions staff are considering

The city is now considering changes such as improved signage, pavement markings, speed cushions, flex posts, limiting ticket frequency, and potentially restricting the cameras to school hours.

“Our top priority is ensuring the safety of all road users, especially vulnerable ones like school kids and seniors,” Del Duca added. “Thank you to the community for your emails, calls, and DMs. We’re listening and responding based on your feedback.”

Some councillors admit getting caught too

Coun. Rosanna DeFrancesca says she received a ticket herself and understands residents’ frustrations with how quickly violations can add up.

“I’ve been caught. I’ve had one ticket, I clocked at 52 (in a 40) and I knew it,” she told CTV News Toronto. “And I thought, okay, I’m getting a ticket here because it was out of the norm for me… and that’s what we want. We want people to condition themselves to pay attention.”

Her son, she added, received three tickets in a month.

“We’re going to be looking at possibly a warning before an initial ticket, or maybe some discretion within 30 days, because people are getting like, three or four tickets within a 30-day period,” she said.

‘Not a cash grab,’ councillor says

A staff report that was considered by council last week noted that the city has received a “spike” in calls since fines first began being issued in April.

Staff said that due to the increased calls and email volumes, both Service Vaughan and the city’s by-law enforcement division have had to bring on “surge staff” to assist residents amid rising call wait times.

Staff said that on May 12, a recent high of 84 people contacted Service Vaughan about the cameras, may of them looking to dispute their fines.

While acknowledging the rollout could have been handled better, DeFrancesca says the program should not be abandoned.

“We want to make sure that they understand that this is not about getting a cash grab. This is about overall safety on our streets,” she said. “It’s only a cash grab if you’re speeding. It’s not a tax, it’s only implemented to people who are speeding.”

She pointed to longstanding resident concerns about speeding.

“I got elected in 2010 and that’s all I heard for the first two terms of my time here as councillor — that you need to slow people down,” she said. “People are driving too fast.”

She also cautioned against removing cameras altogether.

“I personally don’t think that opting out of cameras is a good way to go,” she said. “A lot of residents feel unsafe, even with their children walking to school or to a local library. They’re worried about letting their kids walk,” she said.