A strange irony has descended upon Ottawa’s school zones. Following the abrupt shutdown of speed cameras across the province, the city received a promised solution from the government: oversized warning signs. But these aren’t your typical roadside notices. They’re colossal, described as “highway-sized,” and present an immediate logistical headache.
The signs, intended to alert drivers to increased fines for speeding near schools, are simply too large for Ottawa’s existing infrastructure. City officials are now scrambling to determine how to mount the 12-foot-tall behemoths in areas designed for standard signage. The province insists these “oversized” signs, 90 cm wide, will improve visibility and supplement existing school zone warnings.
Councilor Tim Tierney, chair of the public works and infrastructure committee, isn’t convinced. He points to city data suggesting signage alone has a limited impact on driver behavior. “Signs change a pattern for a little bit, then people go right back to it,” he stated, questioning the effectiveness of even the most “flashy” displays. He wryly compared the planned signs with flashing beacons to something more at home in Las Vegas.
The situation is further complicated by the temporary nature of the solution. These massive signs are merely a stopgap, a placeholder until the province finalizes designs for permanent replacements, complete with large, flashing beacons and accompanying regulatory changes. The initial delivery to Ottawa is at least bilingual, addressing previous concerns about language requirements in the city.
Beyond the signage issue, Ottawa is exploring other traffic-calming measures. Increased police presence has been deployed to former speed camera locations, but more substantial solutions, like speed bumps, are stalled. A key obstacle is funding. While the province pledged $42 million for road safety initiatives, the details of allocation remain unclear, leaving the city waiting for promised financial support.
The timing is also unfavorable. With winter approaching, construction season is over, meaning any physical changes to roadways will have to wait until spring. This delay adds another layer of frustration to a situation already fraught with challenges.
The city’s previous automated enforcement program was remarkably successful, generating $97.5 million in fines since its 2020 launch. Of that, $41.6 million was earmarked for road safety initiatives. Now, with the cameras gone, officials are closely monitoring eight former camera zones to assess whether average speeds are increasing.
This isn’t the first time Ottawa has wrestled with oversized signage. In 2019, the initial rollout of speed cameras faced similar hurdles, with concerns about the ability of certain streetscapes to accommodate the large bilingual signs. A solution was found by stacking the signs on a single post, but the current predicament feels different.
Tierney expressed deep frustration with the entire process, lamenting the removal of a program that had demonstrably improved safety. “The fact that we’re taking them all down is even more concerning,” he said, “because that means we’d have to start the entire program again after many years of success.”
