twenty new automated speed cameras are among the items in the nearly $750 million in spending in the 2024 draft budget approved thursday by the city of ottawa’s transportation committee.
the new automated speed enforcement cameras will cost $2.4 million and bring the total number of speed cameras in the city to 60. revenue from the fines they generate will be invested in road safety programs. in 2022, the cameras generated $9 million in revenue, followed by more than $11 million in the first 10 months of 2023.
the draft budget includes $295 million in operating costs and another $454.8 million in capital expenditures.
in 2024, the city will invest tens of millions of dollars in road, sidewalk and cycling path infrastructure, including $20.2 million to widen and realign greenbank road in south barrhaven and $13.4 million for a “complete street” extension of robert grant avenue in stittsville, linking hazeldean road to abbott street.
another $14 million will go to sidewalk repair and construction, fixing “missing links” in the city’s cycling network and adding more secure bicycle storage to combat thefts.
there’s more money for adult school crossing guards, too: $4.2 million and 10 new positions, bring the total across the city to 286. there’s $20.5 million earmarked for the city’s road safety action plan, which will emphasize safety for “vulnerable road users” and “high-risk driver behaviours” as well as safety at intersections and in rural areas.