County of Brant’s first Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) camera officially went live on Monday, February 3, 2025.
Located on Silver Street near North Ward Public School in Paris, the ASE was first installed in October of 2024 as part of the Brant Safe Streets Strategy to promote safer roads in Community Safety Zones.
Having undergone a testing and awareness phase where no fines were issued, now that the program is live the following fines will be in place for drivers violating the 40 km/h limit:
- 1 to 19 km over the speed limit: $5 per km over, plus costs*
- 20 to 29 km over the speed limit: $7.50 per km over, plus costs*
- 30 to 49 km over the speed limit: $12 per km over, plus costs*
- 50 km or more over the speed limit: $19.50 per km over, plus costs*
Additional costs will include a victim fine surcharge, mandated by the Province of Ontario, and will be directed to the Victims’ Justice Fund.
The intention of the new system is to allow for around the clock monitoring and enforcement, improving safety in key areas without the need for constant police presence.
Greg Bergeron, the County’s Director of Enforcement and Regulatory Services said that drivers moving through the area are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the system and adhere to posted speed limits.
“The implementation of Automated Speed Enforcement is a critical step in our commitment to safer roads,” said Bergeron in a County of Brant press release. “We’ve already seen evidence from other municipalities that these systems reduce speeding and protect the most vulnerable road users, like children, the elderly and other pedestrians. Automated Speed Enforcement is the reminder we all need to slow down to protect where we live, work and play. Community safety is our ultimate goal and we want to remind drivers to pay attention to the posted signage to avoid being ticketed.”
As far as the details regarding how the system will play out, according to the County’s website all speeding charges will be thoroughly reviewed by a Provincial Offences Officer and once officially issued by the County (to occur within 23 days of the violation), tickets will be mailed to the registered licence plate holder within 30 days or less from when offence occurred.
It’s important to note that while the penalty for speeding is only a fine and that no demerit points will be issued, failure to pay the ticket and past due penalties will result in additional administrative fees and can affect the license plate renewal process at the Ministry of Transportation.
While this is just the first of three ASE systems to be up and running in 2025, the County does have plans to expand ASE systems to other School and Community Safety Zones over the coming years.
The County press release noted that these priority locations “will be determined based on speeding and collision data, pedestrian activity, traffic volume, and other safety considerations.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
