The city is going to double the number of red light cameras at intersections across Windsor.
During Monday's meeting, council voted in favour of adding red light cameras at ten more intersections across Windsor, bringing the total number of cameras to 20.
City staff will now review collision data provided by the Windsor Police Service and work with the city's vendor that will install the cameras to examine where the new red light cameras will be placed, which are expected to be in areas where the data shows a high number of side-impact collisions.
Executive Director of Operations Shawna Boakes says the goal is to begin having the next round of red light cameras come online in the new year.
"As of right now, I'm thinking that's going to be our goal in January 2025; we're going to have the next round turn on," she says. "Whether they're all right away at the beginning of January or subsequently after that, that's kind of the plan. Once we get the list to our vendor, they've actually come down, they've done a site visit, they do a walk-through, and they'll assess it.
Staff will also conduct site visits at the various locations before a final decision is made.
If a driver is caught running a red light under the program, a $325 ticket will be issued.
The goals of red light cameras are to change driver behaviour, reduce angled collisions, and increase safety.
Boakes says they try to space the red light cameras out.
"When there's 10 out of 297 signals, people can drive around them, people can find a way around them," she says. "So when you have more smattered around the city, they're more likely to end up driving through one, and then that behaviour starts to transition into other locations as well, because they're not remembering, where they are and stuff like that. So that's kind of the goal.
The City of Windsor’s first red light camera system was activated on January 1, 2022, with a total of 10 systems coming online by the end of February 2022.
Red Light Camera systems are in place at the following intersections:
1. Wyandotte Street East at Goyeau Street
2. Wyandotte Street at Ouellette Avenue
3. Howard Avenue at the E.C. Row eastbound off ramp
4. University Avenue West at Crawford Avenue
5. McHugh Street at Clover Avenue
6. Giles Boulevard at Ouellette Avenue
7. Seminole Street at Central Avenue
8. Erie Street East at Goyeau Street
9. Huron Church Road at Tecumseh Road West
10. Eugenie Street East at McDougall Avenue
According to a report to council, 5,318 tickets were issued in 2022, while 6,141 tickets were issued in 2023.
In all, the city's net revenue from the tickets was just over $1.61 million over the first two years of having the red light cameras.
Council also voted to discuss at a future meeting how to use the money collected from the fines and if it should be tied to traffic issues.
