WELLINGTON COUNTY – County officials seem pleased with Wellington’s new speed camera pilot program, which raked in almost $1.18 million in gross revenue in its first two months.
So much so, that county councillor Gregg Davidson, who has advocated for speed cameras since 2022, already expects the pilot to become “a regular program.”
“We’re doing this to curb speed, to alter driver behaviour, to increase safety for the community,” Davidson said in a phone interview.
“That’s the ultimate goal, it is not to collect money.”
But some drivers aren’t so sure, calling the program “predatory” and a “money grab” and pointing out alleged ticket errors, among other grievances.
Wellington County went live with its automated speed enforcement (ASE) one-year pilot program in five community safety zones on Jan. 15.
As of March 19, approximately 54,000 speeding tickets have been issued at the five camera locations already in use:
- Belsyde Avenue East in Fergus;
- Brock Road South in Aberfoyle;
- Main Street in Palmerston;
- Sligo Road East in Mount Forest; and
- Wellington Street South in Drayton.
Two other trial locations – on Trafalgar Road in Hillsburgh and Main Street North in Rockwood – are expected to go live next month.
According to county treasurer Ken DeHart, ASE fines collected to the end of February totalled close to $1.18-million, and the county’s share of that is just under $445,000.
Asked how much contractor Global Traffic Group takes in, DeHart told the Advertiser that is “confidential” information.
This is not the first time county officials have refused to share that detail with the newspaper, which is filing a freedom of information request for the information.
Based on the figures provided by DeHart, it appears the county receives about 38 per cent of total ticket fines, with the rest going to:
- Global Traffic Group;
- “victim component fees” included on every ASE ticket, which go to the Ministry of the Attorney General; and
- licence plate search fees on every ticket for the Ministry of Transportation.
A sample of tickets submitted by area drivers and reviewed by Advertiser staff, suggests the victim and licence plate fees together average about 25% of the total penalty.
Using that figure and the preliminary numbers provided by DeHart, on average, it appears Global Traffic Group receives about 37% of gross ticket revenue.
Based on the $1.18-million total, that means Global has likely collected well over $400,000 from the county’s ASE program to date.
“They (Global) cover all of the expenses of the joint processing centre which is operated by the Township of Essa,” DeHart told the Advertiser.
That explains why the tickets are mailed from Essa Township, a fact that has confused some drivers who receive a speeding ticket in Wellington County.
DeHart later told the Advertiser “the number of tickets paid to the end of February is 10,748″ – or just 28% of approximately 38,000 tickets issued during the same time period.
That means gross revenue from the first two months of ASE tickets will likely be much higher than $1.18 million, perhaps exceeding $4 million, with the county and Global Traffic Group each possibly collecting more than $1.4 million.
The county receives financial updates on the ASE program every month, so it could be some time before more accurate revenue figures are revealed.
Speed threshold
According to a report from county engineer Don Kudo presented to the roads committee on March 11, Global Traffic Group has stated:
- 87% of speeding infractions at the five ASE locations occurred between 7am and 5pm;
- 12% took place between 5pm and 7am; and
- 1% between 12 and 7am.
Davidson said the speeding threshold – the minimum speed over the limit for which drivers will receive a ticket – was set in a closed council meeting so, “I can not confirm what that threshold is.”
The threshold was created after discussions between county staff, council and Global Traffic Group, he explained.
“The information from their years and years of operating ASE,” also helped guide the decision, he added.
Asked if the threshold changes depending on the time of day, Davidson replied, “Again, I can not discuss what the threshold is.”
For the tickets reviewed by the Advertiser, the lowest penalty issued was for allegedly driving 11km/h over the posted speed limit.
Davidson stressed the ASE program is not about making money.
“When I was a police officer … I gave out lots of tickets and it was not ever about making money for the community,” he said.
Complaints, ticket errors
However, in a recent letter to the Advertiser, Puslinch resident John Bossie called “BS” on officials who disavow or downplay the county’s financial windfall, noting this year’s budget includes $1-million in estimated ASE revenue.
“The thing that is most irritating to me is [the county’s contract] has too many confidential parts that can not be disclosed, especially when it involves money,” Bossie stated.
Highlighting the number of tickets issued thus far, he added, “Maybe next year our taxes will be reduced – or as usual, elected officials will find a new way to spend our money.”
Guelph resident Larry Grovum, who said he recently got a ticket for travelling 52km/h in the 40 zone on Belsyde Avenue in Fergus, called that ASE location “a predatory speed trap.”
In a letter to the newspaper he questioned why the camera, located in a community safety zone set up for a nearby school, operates on weekends and why the speed limit is different in front of the nearby Fergus sportsplex, also a busy location.
“If the reason for the camera was to reduce vehicle speed to safeguard pedestrians, then the 40 limit should have been extended beyond the school past the sportsplex at no extra cost and with far more benefit,” he stated.
Grovum said he suggested to county staff that flashing lights be installed in the area, but he is not optimistic about the outcome.
“You might as well save your breath to cool your soup,’’ he stated.
Other drivers have complained about errors in ticket information, including several who spoke to the Advertiser.
Grand Valley resident Tyler Van Gerven told the newspaper he recently received an inaccurate ticket stating he was travelling 52km/h in the 40 zone in Fergus.
“I’ve seen the speed camera there, saw it coming for months [and] I made sure to go 40 on the dot,” he explained.
“I’ve tried calling to fight it probably 30 times now and no one gets back to you.”
Van Gerven even tried to collect GPS data from his company truck to prove his case, but “it only keeps the record for 48 hours and by the time I got the ticket, it was too late.”
He is one of several people who have complained about the delay between the time of their alleged speeding infraction and the arrival of the ticket in the mail.
“It sucks because I used to do all my grocery shopping in Fergus and go into town, and now I just avoid Fergus,” Van Gerven said.
The county is “bragging” about the $445,000 in revenue it has received, he said, but “it’s just another [money] grab.
“We’ve got a recession that’s going down the drain and they’re just putting their hands in for more,” he said.
“Something doesn’t seem right with it.”
Many others agreed on social media, including the Fergus Community News Facebook group.
Their grievances range from alleged ticket errors (on speed and/or time of day) and delays in ticket delivery, to the ethics of using cameras and to “money grab” accusations similar to the one made by Van Gerven.
Future camera locations
Wellington County has a total of 17 community safety zones and seven of them were approved in October 2024 as the initial ASE trial locations.
Ten other locations are proposed for cameras, with implementation possibly coming as soon as September, in Damascus, Moorefield, Alma, another in Drayton, two in Elora, a second Fergus location, Ponsonby, and two in Erin.
“We expect this pilot will just be turned into a regular program,” Davidson said.
He also noted 60% of the tickets thus far were issued to those living outside of the county.
“Speed limits are not guidelines, they are the law,” he said.
The image above depicts the automated speed enforcement additional trial locations in Wellington County. Wellington County council agenda image
Background
The ASE idea was originally brought to county council by Davidson in February 2022.
He requested the use of ASE be analyzed after the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police called for the expansion and mandated use of ASE to help with speeding issues.
The county issued a request for proposals for an ASE program on Nov. 27, 2023 and received three submissions on Feb. 8, 2024, from:
- Global Traffic Group, based in Alberta;
- Redflex Traffic Systems, a subsidiary of Verra Mobility, based in Arizona; and
- Truvelo Corp. in Hillsburgh.
Staff recommended accepting the proposal from Global Traffic Group, which “achieved the highest score on its proposal submission,” according to report to the county roads committee last March from Jackie Osti, manager of the county’s purchasing and risk management services.
Last spring the county began negotiations with Global Traffic Group for a contract to provide the cameras.
-With files from Chris Daponte
