To the parent gripping the steering wheel outside Sandhills Public School, the click of a speed enforcement camera is more than a nuisance—it’s a warning, a line drawn across the asphalt by Waterloo Region’s new approach to school zone safety.
Since February, 17 automated cameras have quietly chronicled the habits of Waterloo Region’s drivers, turning routine trips past elementary schools into a high-stakes exercise in attention. The result? Nearly 56,000 tickets in six months, with the region expecting to collect an eye-catching $9.8 million from fines in 2025 alone.
The program’s reach is expanding. By year’s end, 27 cameras will monitor school zones, each aimed at curbing speeds where children cross. The majority of tickets—three out of four—land in the mailboxes of local residents, each bearing a median fine of just over $108. According to regional staff, half the anticipated revenue will offset program costs while the remainder supports future safety measures.
Numbers, however, only tell half the story. One camera outside Sandhills Public School and St. Dominic Savio Catholic School, operational since late March, has recorded more than 240,000 speeding incidents, issuing just over 9,000 tickets. Meanwhile, in North Dumfries, thousands of speeders have drawn only a handful of fines, underscoring a curious gap between infractions and enforcement.
Officials maintain that the cameras have accomplished more than swelling municipal coffers. Drivers, they report, are slowing down by an average of 15 kilometres an hour—a shift that, on paper, translates to fewer serious injuries. Still, with two million instances of speeding recorded in the first half-year alone, compliance remains an ongoing battle. Just 57 per cent of motorists keep to posted limits.
The debate continues over whether these cameras are tools for safety or cash machines with a civic veneer. For now, their presence is unmistakable, blinking a silent reminder that in the contest between expedience and caution, families in Waterloo Region have a new ally—one that watches with unblinking precision.
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Ontario region expects to generate $9.8M from speed enforcement cameras in 2025
