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Strong Towns Ottawa

@strongtownsottawa.ca
1.2K followers 247 following 516 posts

linktr.ee/strongtownsottawa We're an urbanist group, focused on safer streets, giving citizens more options, and creating a more financially responsible city. Help us support bus lanes on Bank St: strongtownsottawa.ca/bank

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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 29/09/2026
Thanks to everyone who showed up to last week's social gathering! The Oktoberfest action was quite lively! Look forward to our next event, Thursday, October 8th, where we'll be hosting our monthly meeting, 6:15pm at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, at 400 Sparks!
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 28/09/2026
Not sure what to do tonight? Come join us to discuss Walkable Cities by Jeff Speck! You don't have to have read the book to participate, all are welcome to join us! More info can be found on our event page here : luma.com/67fnnpuw
A poster depicting the Ottawa Urbanism Book Club meeting for September 28th, from 6:15-7:45pm at Sunnyside Public Library, to discuss the book "Walkable City" by Jeff Speck
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 24/09/2026
Reminder we have our monthly social tomorrow night, 7pm, at Braumeister Bierhalle! All are welcome, no need to RSVP! They are holding their Oktoberfest festivities at the same time, so we will only have 1 table reserved for us, but there will still be other seating in the restaurant!
Poster for the Strong Towns Ottawa monthly social gathering at Braumeister Bierhalle, Friday September 25th, from 7pm. 

The image depicts a group of members sitting at 2 tables smiling while facing towards the camera.
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 23/09/2026
We've sent out our questionnaire that you can see attached to all candidates for mayor and council. We've started receiving responses! If you want to see responses from candidates in your area, feel free to e-mail them and ask them to fill out the survey we've sent! We'll be sharing answers soon!
Strong Towns Ottawa's 2026 election questionnaire that asks candidates about 5 topics and a general question.

Housing : 

What actions, if any, do you believe the city should take with regards to housing affordability? What do you see as the limits for the city in that area?

Long-Term Infrastructure Planning : 

Ottawa faces a significant gap between its long-term infrastructure maintenance needs and projected revenues. How should the city approach closing that gap, and what trade-offs are you willing to accept?

Transportation :

How do you think Ottawa should prioritize competing demands on road space and transportation infrastructure investment over the next 10 years?

Mixed-Use Development :

How do you see the relationship between land use policy such as zoning, building types, the mix of uses, etc... and residents’ quality of life and daily mobility? What room do you think there is for commercial use in residential neighbourhoods? What is the city getting wrong and what should it be doing differently?

Transit :

Where do you see the future going for OC Transportation over the next 4 years if you were to win your election?

General : 

If you have the time: Is there any other specific policy or zoning change that you would really like to see implemented, and why?
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 23/09/2026
We've sent out our questionnaire that you can see attached to all candidates for mayor and council. We've started receiving responses! If you want to see responses from candidates in your area, feel free to e-mail them and ask them to fill out the survey we've sent! We'll be sharing answers soon!
Strong Towns Ottawa's 2026 election questionnaire that asks candidates about 5 topics and a general question.

Housing : 

What actions, if any, do you believe the city should take with regards to housing affordability? What do you see as the limits for the city in that area?

Long-Term Infrastructure Planning : 

Ottawa faces a significant gap between its long-term infrastructure maintenance needs and projected revenues. How should the city approach closing that gap, and what trade-offs are you willing to accept?

Transportation :

How do you think Ottawa should prioritize competing demands on road space and transportation infrastructure investment over the next 10 years?

Mixed-Use Development :

How do you see the relationship between land use policy such as zoning, building types, the mix of uses, etc... and residents’ quality of life and daily mobility? What room do you think there is for commercial use in residential neighbourhoods? What is the city getting wrong and what should it be doing differently?

Transit :

Where do you see the future going for OC Transportation over the next 4 years if you were to win your election?

General : 

If you have the time: Is there any other specific policy or zoning change that you would really like to see implemented, and why?
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 21/09/2026
What possible reason could we have to oppose the vacant unit tax? It's a simple form that's easy to fill out, and is extremely beneficial. It not only ensures properties aren't being hoarded and kept vacant, it also uses the funds to directly build more housing. This is a win-win.
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 18/09/2026
It is interesting how we can completely change our tune when it comes to wealthy homeowners not wanting more neighbours around them. The city should fairly apply their standards all throughout the city, not just to benefit a few wealthy people who have the time and money to whine about it.
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 16/09/2026
This caveman is unfortunately hitting a little bit too close to home 😅😅 www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWbD...
youtube.com
Caveman NIMBY
YouTube video by ReasonTV
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 16/09/2026
We have an infrastructure funding deficit of over $10 BILLION dollars. This is not something to sneeze at. All candidates need to start taking this issue seriously, if we have any hope of providing a functioning city for our current and future residents!
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It's Jamie @sjamieit.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Shocked. Shocked, I say. How could this have happened? The water main there under O'Connor Street is only 123 years old (1903). Practically brand new! /s I'm sure the city was hoping to kick that can down the road for at least another decade. It's not even on the planned 5 year construction map.
cbc.ca
Broken water main soaks O'Connor and Albert streets in downtown Ottawa | CBC News
A broken water main at a downtown Ottawa intersection filled the vicinity with water and is forcing lane closures on nearby roads on Monday morning.
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 14/09/2026
Another reminder about the upcoming mayoral debate happening this Thursday at the Centre town United Church from 6-8pm! It'll be a great opportunity to hear from leading candidates and hang out with other STO members! Sign up to get your tickets at the link below www.eventbrite.ca/e/mayoral-ec...
eventbrite.ca
Mayoral Eco Debate, Leading Candidates
Leading mayoral candidates are invited to discuss how we can build a climate-ready, greener and livable Ottawa for all!
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Hans on the Bike @hansonthebike.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Confederation Park in #Ottawa right now
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 08/09/2026
Wanna hear what the leading mayoral candidates have in store for our city? Well then come out to the mayoral debate that we're putting on with other members of POP (Peoples Official Plan) on the 17th! Thank you to all orgs helping with this Get your tickets here : www.eventbrite.ca/e/mayoral-ec...
eventbrite.ca
Mayoral Eco Debate, Leading Candidates
Leading mayoral candidates are invited to discuss how we can build a climate-ready, greener and livable Ottawa for all!
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 08/09/2026
Wanna hear what the leading mayoral candidates have in store for our city? Well then come out to the mayoral debate that we're putting on with other members of POP (Peoples Official Plan) on the 17th! Thank you to all orgs helping with this Get your tickets here : www.eventbrite.ca/e/mayoral-ec...
eventbrite.ca
Mayoral Eco Debate, Leading Candidates
Leading mayoral candidates are invited to discuss how we can build a climate-ready, greener and livable Ottawa for all!
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 06/09/2026
We spoke with Kimberley at the CBC about the terrible policy proposal of turning paid parking throughout the city into free parking. In short this would hurt all people in our city, even the drivers who are looking for parking. You can read it here : www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Free on-street parking would create bigger hurdles, urbanism groups say | CBC News
An Ottawa mayoral candidate's pitch to make on-street parking free would create more hurdles for drivers and not help businesses, some groups say.
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ScarletCoral @scarletcoral.ca · 04/09/2026
🫠 "$27M was spent on installing bike lanes along a 13-km stretch of Bloor Street, a 3.2-km stretch of Yonge Street and around a 3.6-km stretch of University Avenue and Queen's Park [...] #Toronto estimated that removal of the full 19-km stretch of bike lanes [...] would cost $48M" #bikeTO #ONpoli
cbc.ca
Toronto's bike lanes cost millions to install. What's the price tag for their removal or reconfiguration? | CBC News
With bike lane removal and reconfiguration plans along some of the city's busiest roads now underway, questions persist over what the endeavour will look like and how much it's going to cost taxpayers...
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 04/09/2026
Free parking is an awful proposal that would lead to more traffic, less parking available for you when you need it, more pollution, more cars on our roads, more noise, etc... There's literally no positive that would come from this besides a further subsidy to cars. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
All on-street parking should be free, says mayoral candidate Alex Lawson | CBC News
An Ottawa mayoral candidate is promising to remove every single parking meter and pay station in the city if he's elected, making all on-street parking space free.
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 03/09/2026
The study done here is fantastic as it really gives us the data that many already know by intuition, cars make our streets less enjoyable and increase pollution significantly. Making alternative options attractive improves our streets for all. Wonderful work! www.youtube.com/watch?v=91TB...
youtube.com
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Laine Johnson @lainejohnson.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I've heard from many people that they can't find their name on the voters list using the online checker. In fact, I'm not on the list! Today, I wrote to the Elections Office asking them to look into the matter. I suspect the problem is with the software, not the list itself, but let's be sure!
Text of a letter to the Ottawa Elections Office asking them to look at their voters list checking software.
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It's Jamie @sjamieit.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
“The tax dollars of rural residents were invested in infrastructure elsewhere in the city that they themselves never benefited from.” 🤨 Excuse me? Don't make me bust open the spreadsheets.
ctvnews.ca
Sutcliffe promises to boost funding for rural roads, advance ring road if re-elected mayor of Ottawa
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says he will boost funding for rural roads, provide dedicated funding for rural infrastructure priorities and advance building a ring road if re-elected next fall.
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It's Jamie @sjamieit.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
$50 million for rural roads (over 4 years) on top of existing funding levels. Where does this money come from? A reminder that LRT frequency was cut from 5 to 10 minutes to save $1.6 million/yr. 70,000 bus service hours were cut in New Ways to Bus to save $10 million/yr.
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 25/08/2026
Reminder that we have our regular monthly social gathering happening this Friday at 7pm at Baumeister Bierhalle! It's a great opportunity to kick back, relax, and chat about things happening in our city, all while meeting a diverse set of people fighting to make it better! luma.com/uvhanppk
luma.com
Casual Social Gathering—August · Luma
Join us for our monthly casual social gathering, have some food/drinks, and have a good time!
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It's Jamie @sjamieit.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Cathy Curry at Planning Committee today: "You are all aware [...] what is going on in Kanata right now with the flooding, almost 600 homes, and you can imagine my reality when most of them are along the golf course lands." No they aren't. Most flooding was in Beaverbrook, with its 1960s sewers.
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Toon Dreessen @toondreessen.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The challenges of planning: it shouldn’t be this hard to make housing. City costs, delays, interference in design killed the housing we explicitly plan & say we want @jleiper.bsky.social @shawnmenard.bsky.social @seandevine9.bsky.social @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social substack.com/@toondreesse...
substack.com
The Challenge of Planning
Policies meet reality; it shouldn't be this hard to build housing
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 17/08/2026
Could you imagine we stopped investing into road infrastructure because the average driver speeds? Or rolls through stop signs? Or doesn't stop before turning right on a red? Or blocks the box? Or blocks the crosswalk for pedestrians? Etc... It's very tiring hearing these double standards...
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 15/08/2026
Amazing stuff. It might not seem like much but this is just as important as transit oriented development, safe cycling infrastructure, good pedestrian connections, and all of that!
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Elysia♡ @ely.pub.moe · 15/08/2026
some of the processed photos i took at @strongtownsottawa.ca last night 😊 #elyisaphotos
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 14/08/2026
Want to hear from mayoral candidates and get an opportunity to meet them in person? Then check out the following event that POP is putting on! Thank you so much to the wonderful people and orgs for helping put this together! Municipal politics is important and staying engaged is crucial!
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 14/08/2026
Thank you to all of our wonderful members who showed up, as well as to @bettertransitottawa.ca for coming to present, and all of their followers for attending too! Big thanks as well to councillors Sean Devine and Jeff Leiper for taking interest in such an important topic!
Members posing at the Strong Towns Ottawa monthly meeting in August 2026, where Better Transit Ottawa presented
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Elysia♡ @ely.pub.moe · 14/08/2026
Some of the unedited JPEG photos I took for @bettertransitottawa.ca 's invasion of @strongtownsottawa.ca tonight! Featuring @seandevine9.bsky.social and @jleiper.bsky.social
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Better Transit Ottawa @bettertransitottawa.ca · 14/08/2026
What a great turnout! Thank you to everyone who came out tonight.
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Miser @misernyc.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
It's frustrating that so few pedestrians realize how much the micromobility movement has improved their lives.
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yuka @dragons.tf · 12/08/2026
tomorrow. one night only. we take over STO. two groups enter. one group leaves. be there. lyon station. 6pm.
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 12/08/2026
Wait, what?!
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Toon Dreessen @toondreessen.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
I’m all for saving money. But this all comes from the wrong place: deferring infrastructure investments is a quick way to kick the can down the road. In 20 years these politicians won’t be here but you’re failing pipes. Roads and community centres will be. And that’s when the bills will be due 1/
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 11/08/2026
Where have these "savings and efficiencies" gotten us over the last 4 years? All we've seen is a deterioration in our services and more cuts. Having your bus come less often isn't a "saving". "Record investments" will happen just by virtue of following inflation, that doesn't mean anything.
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 11/08/2026
This Thursday night only: come listen to @bettertransitottawa.ca talk about buses & numbers! 6pm, St. Peter's Lutheran Church All are welcome, no need to RSVP luma.com/bbim7cln
luma.com
Monthly Meeting—August Better Transit Ottawa Takes Over · Luma
Join us for our August monthly meeting. Better Transit Ottawa will be taking over and showing off some of the tools tracking bus statistics. You'll have the…
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 11/08/2026
One of the more frustrating arguments from the city yesterday as to why they're keeping a whole 13 parking spots instead of widening the sidewalks further was due to multi-unit housing needing parking... The housing type that objectively has the lowest car ownership rates and walks the most?
An image from the city of Ottawa's transportation trends report on "Daily mode share by trip origin". The table shows the downtown core having under 30% of trips done by vehicle and 44% done by walking.An image from the city of Ottawa's transportation trends report showing the vehicle ownership rates for different parts of the city. The downtown core shows 48% of households with no vehicle at all, and 45% with only a single vehicle.
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 10/08/2026
With over an hour and a half left in the presentation after the city showed their extremely watered down design with no bike lanes, we are now only allowed to submit text questions due to "time constraints" in a room of 25 people... This doesn't really feel like a public consultation.
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It's Jamie @sjamieit.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The province doesn't prevent us from turning parking into bike lanes, or burring the hydro lines to make more room, or narrowing the roadway to plant trees, or lowering the speed limit to 30 or 40, or adjusting the timing of the 'green wave', or making the street 2-way... The City decides all that.
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 10/08/2026
The Kent Street Redesign online consultation is tonight 6:30-8:30 pm, we strongly urge you to sign up and show up! Link is here us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... This project is extremely disappointing for so many reasons. This road is an extremely uncomfortable sewer for traffic, we can do better.
A Google streets view of Kent Street showing how uncomfortable it is to use as someone outside of a vehicle. The road is 4 lanes wide with lots of asphalt, small sidewalks with power lines, and no safe infrastructure for cyclists.
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Dave Robertson @davebikeski.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
OTM Book 7 regulations are very good, but we seem to default to the 3rd order of "preference" to close the sidewalks and then route people where they won't logically go. Children should have the same safety provisions as workers when negotiating a work zone around cars with safe and logical detours.
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 08/08/2026
Some of you might remember last year when the city closed down the sidewalk on Elgin near city hall for pedestrians forcing them to take a huge detour all so that 6 lanes for cars could remain open. Well thankfully we're now getting the same thing just on the other side of the road...
Pedestrian sidewalk closed causing them to make a large detour through an extremely wide road to get around.Pedestrian walking in the road due to no accommodation being made for pedestrians meanwhile two lanes are open for cars.
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 06/08/2026
We've received photos from the Train to Nowhere event that @giopetti.bsky.social hosted at the Bytowne theatre. We were extremely honoured to have been invited to participate in the panel discussion after the showing, with board member Marko joining Gio, Laura, Meg, and Tom!
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Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
It's not great that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' president is someone who's never seen urban cores as more than a place for (driving) commuters to go to as fast as possible regardless of how many lives they put at risk.
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Paul 🇨🇦 🚵 @paul-pothier.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
#Centretown already feels like a net into which #Ottcity is shooting cars like pucks Where’s our goalie?
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Plain Kate @k8thek8.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
"A review of the available literature on right-turn-on-red by Zador (1984) determined that at approximately 80% of all signalized intersections [with] right turns on red, all turning crashes increased by 23%, pedestrian crashes increased by 60% and cyclist crashes increased by 100%."
roadsafetystrategy.ca
Eliminating right turn on red
Eliminating right turn on red
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Strong Towns Ottawa @strongtownsottawa.ca · 05/08/2026
Hey councillor Tierney, please focus on actual improvements to transportation in our city rather than suggesting we should be endangering pedestrians so you don't have to wait a couple more seconds at a red. Those right turn on red bans are there for a reason. www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
ctvnews.ca
Councillor wants Ottawa to explore more options to keep traffic moving downtown this fall
An Ottawa councillor wants the city to explore more options to keep commuters moving this fall as public servants head to the office four days a week, including allowing right turns on red lights at s...
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
A story of cause and effect: Last November, Ontario banned cities from using speed safety cameras to issue tickets. Reckless speeding immediately surged in Toronto, Ottawa, Guelph, and cities throughout the province. A 🧵 about my latest in Bloomberg (gift link)
bloomberg.com
What Happens When Speed Cameras Get Shut Off
In 2025, Ontario banned automated traffic enforcement. Now the number of drivers exceeding the speed limit has surged, according to traffic data.
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
What’s happened since? A spike in reckless driving. On Ottawa’s Katimavik Road, 86% of drivers obeyed the limit when cameras were in use. Now just 20% do. In Toronto, the share of vehicles >11 kmh over the limit jumped 4x. In Guelph, the share of cars >15 kmh over has more than tripled.
cbc.ca
Most drivers speeding at 8 former camera sites, city data shows | CBC News
New City of Ottawa data shows that fewer than half of drivers are complying with posted speed limits at eight former speed camera sites in May, months after the province banned automated speed enforce...
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