Whether it’s a package, promotional flyers or utility bills, most of us know what to expect when checking the mail.
Sometimes we’re caught off guard, however, by an unwanted surprise—a speeding ticket captured by photo radar.
Automated traffic enforcement (ATE)—commonly referred to as photo radar—is a contentious issue in Alberta.
The ‘cash cow’ claim
In 2024, Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen called photo radar a “cash cow” that prioritized municipal revenue over traffic safety.
At the news conference announcing cuts to photo radar sites, Dreeshen wore a “no cash cow” apron and pin.
That position translated to policy last April, when the province limited the use of photo radar in Alberta, including restricting it to construction, playground, and school zones, banning it on provincial highways, and eliminating so-called “speed-on-green” cameras that catch both red-light violations and speeding vehicles travelling through green lights
Dreeshen predicted the new rules would effectively reduce the number of photo radar sites from 2,200 to about 650—a 70 per cent reduction.
Police push back on UCP claims of ‘cash cow’
Many municipal and law enforcement officials were critical of the minister’s anti-photo radar, position, including Mark Neufeld, the former chief of the Calgary Police Service (CPS).
Neufeld blasted Dreeshen’s characterization of photo radar as a cash cow, saying the minister’s words “trivialized and effectively diminished the seriousness of a very important public safety issue in Alberta.”
While both sides hold strong opinions on the issue, what do the numbers say about the transportation minister’s claim?
Calgary’s photo radar facts
There is no data available right now to compare collisions before and after the province required the City of Calgary to stop using photo radar and speed-on-green cameras.
CPS said in an email to the Calgary Journal that a report is due sometime this spring.
But there are statistics comparing collisions before and after Calgary started using photo radar.
CPS began tracking collisions at the 20 intersections where photo radar was installed in 2001.
According to their 2024 Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) report, the total number of collisions decreased by 48 per cent from 2001 to 2024 (from 689 to 361).
Over the same time period, the number of injury collisions at those intersections decreased by 67.9 per cent (from 106 to 34).
The report also highlights that Calgary’s collision rate steadily declined from 84.4 collisions per 100,000 people in 2008 to 23.9 in 2024.
There are still 64 red-light camera locations across Calgary.
But the police service can no longer use most of them to catch drivers speeding on green. The city convinced the province to allow it to use five of its 64 red-light cameras to catch drivers who race through intersections.
The 2024 ATE report shows total collisions at 51 locations decreased by 37.2 per cent from one year before implementation to 14 years post-implementation.
Sixty of the red light cameras were also equipped with speed-on-green capabilities that ticketed drivers who sped through the intersection.
Even though there are fewer collisions now than 10 years ago, the severity of those collisions appears to be increasing.
Overall collision trends in Calgary
According to CPS data, fatal collisions across the city are up 72 per cent over the last decade, from 22 in 2015 to 38 in 2025.
Injury collisions also increased by 21 per cent, from 2,657 in 2015 to 3,224 in 2025.
In contrast, non-injury collisions fell by 30 per cent, from 35,010 in 2015 to 24,371 in 2025.
Total collisions were also down over the decade by 26 per cent, from 37,689 in 2015 to 27,633 in 2025.
Fines and revenue
The CPS began tracking photo radar violations in 2008.
The 2024 ATE report shows the number of photo radar fines peaked over a five-year period from 2015 to 2019, averaging over 250,000 annually.
The amount of photo radar violations issued has declined sharply since then.
The CPS report notes that the decline coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, during which stay-at-home orders kept many vehicles off the road.
It also mentions that fluorescent wrap was added to photo radar cruisers in December 2022 to comply with new provincial guidelines.
From 2022 onwards, the CPS is required to disclose ATE-generated revenue in its annual reports. From 2022 to 2024, photo radar generated $103.9 million.
The CPS says approximately 70 per cent of fine revenue from ATE goes into the CPS budget.
A report from the Calgary Police Commission, which is responsible for drafting the annual CPS budget for the city council, claimed that around 8 percent of the police budget has historically been funded by fine revenue.
The commission also said photo radar cuts have cost the CPS $13 to $15 million each year.
Last year, Calgary’s former top cop, Neufeld, announced the CPS budget faced a $28 million shortfall. He attributed the funding gap to a decline in fine revenue from photo radar.
The Calgary Journal asked the CPS how much money ATE generated in 2025, but was told they won’t have the final amount until the annual ATE report is released later this year.
Recent developments
Earlier this year, the CPS requested that the province reinstate photo radar on Deerfoot Trail and Stoney Trail, the two provincial highways running through Calgary.
The police service cited safety reasons, such as fatal collisions, with four recorded on Deerfoot Trail and another seven on Stoney Trail.
During a meeting of the Police Commission in January, Deputy Chief Cliff O’Brien said police ticketed 493 drivers travelling 51 km/h or more over the posted speed limit on the two provincial highways last year.
“It would be crazy not to think that there’s a correlation there,” O’Brien told reporters, referring to the absence of photo radar on the freeways.
The Calgary Journal asked the transportation minister’s office whether Dreeshen believes the restrictions on photo radar have been justified nearly a year after they came into effect—and whether the minister thinks there is a correlation between photo radar and a decline in collisions.
“Alberta’s government has no plans to expand photo radar beyond the current framework.”
statement from the minister’s press secretary
“Under the current framework,” reads the statement from Dreeshen’s spokesperson, “municipalities can request new photo radar locations as long as they meet the approval criteria, including clear evidence of collisions, proof that other safety measures have not worked, and a commitment to implement complementary strategies alongside photo radar.”
The UCP spokesperson also stresses that it created a $13 million fund to help municipalities “improve high-risk intersections through measures like better signage, signal timing, lighting, and road redesign.”
The statement did not address whether there is a link between an increase in collisions and a reduction in photo radar.
Is photo radar a ‘cash cow’?
Photo radar generated $55.5 million for the city of Calgary in 2022.
So while Dreeshen’s “cash cow” claim is clearly some political framing, there is no doubt that photo radar brought in a lot of money for Calgary.
But critics still wonder if the system was saving lives by reducing speed.
Data clearly shows Calgary has a speeding problem, and traffic fatalities continue to climb.
Right now, we don’t know if removing the photo radar system has led to fewer crashes and fatalities.
That data is expected in the coming weeks.
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