Edmonton to pull photo radar from school and playground zones this summer

Emma Zhao · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 25, 2025 6:09 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

The City of Edmonton is readying to scrap mobile photograph radar successful each schoolhouse and playground zones due to the fact that it's not generating capable revenue.

The metropolis said it volition alternatively redirect resources into upgrades similar much crosswalks and velocity bumps. 

The state announced successful December it would beryllium banning photograph radar connected each provincial highways and connectors, restricting photo radar usage to school, playground and operation zones. It would also no longer allow speed-on-green cameras at intersections. The alteration came into effect successful April. 

According to Edmonton's manager of harmless mobility, Jessica Lamarre, the photograph radar successful schoolhouse and playground zones was subsidized by gross from photograph radar connected arterial roads, specified arsenic Anthony Henday Drive and Yellowhead Trail. 

"Playground zones person go immoderate of the astir safest spots connected our street," she said astatine a quality league Wednesday. "They person precocious velocity compliance, and they person debased clang volumes and severities." 

Since 2019, the metropolis has invested much than $6 cardinal into playground portion upgrades, according to Lamarre. 

"Rather than scaling backmost our efforts, we're choosing to accommodate by stepping guardant with a caller attack that prioritizes semipermanent disposable information improvements successful these important spaces," said Lamarre. 

In a statement, Minister of Transportation Devin Dreeshen says he's encouraged to spot municipalities taking a caller attack to amended postulation safety. 

'Double whammy'

Debbie Hammond, the enforcement manager of the Safer Roads Alliance, a non-profit enactment successful Edmonton, doesn't enactment the move. 

"I deliberation this is simply a treble whammy due to the fact that I didn't expect Edmonton of each places, each cities, to propulsion this technology," she said.

"They were the metropolis successful this state and astir apt successful Canada that were truly astatine the forefront of roadworthy information and leveraging information to support our roads safe. So it's a bittersweet time for Edmontonians and Albertans to cognize that this exertion is really being removed."

While she notes that collisions in schoolhouse and playground zones are low, she said overmuch of that enactment is due to the fact that of the beingness of photograph radar.

WATCH | EPS informing drivers to dilatory down: 

"We wouldn't person that exertion determination successful those neighbourhoods if it wasn't needed," Hammond said. 

"There are drivers, I spot it successful my neighbourhood each the time. They don't dilatory down and with small radical moving connected and disconnected the roads, I deliberation it's astir apt not the champion determination to beryllium doing that."

Vision Zero

The metropolis said the determination would bring Edmonton person to its Vision Zero goal, to execute a roadworthy strategy with zero postulation fatalities and superior injuries. Edmonton was 1 of the archetypal cities successful Canada to instrumentality specified a plan. 

For Brandon Kwong, committee seat of the advocacy radical Paths for People, the extremity is to get to a spot wherever less photograph radar sites are needed. However, that requires capable infrastructure and roadworthy designs that guarantee drivers won't speed.

Kwong said the metropolis isn't rather determination yet.

"Ultimately, I deliberation we spot safer infrastructure and roadway designs arsenic being the champion eventual solution to encouraging amended operator and roadway behaviour," helium said. 

"But we cognize that that volition instrumentality a agelong clip to rotation retired … and successful the meantime, we're seeing a batch … in presumption of postulation violence."

Lamarre said the metropolis volition proceed to prioritize roadworthy information successful playground zones.

"We've heard large and wide from families and from schoolhouse communities that the challenges they're facing successful playground zones spell acold beyond speeding," she said

"People are disquieted astir unsafe crossings, assertive driving, amerciable parking and U-turns and chaotic drop-offs and pick-ups that tin sometimes enactment kids astatine risk."

Photo radar volition beryllium pulled from each schoolhouse and playground zones successful the metropolis starting July 1.