Between now and December 2017, the City of Ottawa will install 20 new red light cameras at high-collision intersections throughout the city.
Four cameras will be going up before the end of the year, including two in Centretown at Gladstone Avenue and Rochester Street in Little Italy and at Kent and Catherine Streets. The remaining 15 lights will go up next year with a maintenance cost of $35,000 each per year. These will be in addition to the 34 red light cameras that have been installed in Ottawa since 2000.
“Road safety is a top concern in neighbourhoods across Ottawa and as a Council we are committed to making sure that all of our road, path and sidewalk users feel safe,” Mayor Jim Watson said in a statement on his website. “Collisions resulting from red light running tend to be more severe than other intersection collisions because they usually involve at least one vehicle travelling very quickly.”
The cameras will take two photographs, one when a vehicle is approaching an intersection with a red light, and the second when the vehicle is in the middle of the intersection.
Watson was in Orléans yesterday with Coun. Keith Egli, chair of the City’s Transportation Committee, and Orléans Coun. Bob Monette to unveil the first of the new cameras.
Watson also stated online cameras allow police focus on other issues, instead of stationing officers at intersections to watch traffic.
“The objective of the program is to improve intersection safety by decreasing the number of red-light running occurrences,” Watson said. “In 2014, there were 655 reportable angle collisions at signalized intersections in the city.”
According to the mayor’s website, the fine for running a red light is $260, plus a $5 service fee and $60 victim surcharge. This money will go towards community safety initiatives.