Ottawa police say they don’t have the resources to enforce traffic safety across the city despite concerns by some residents about speeding and unsafe driving.
Riverside South-Findlay Coun. Steve Desroches said, during the Sept. 28 Police Services Board meeting, that residents of his ward raise the issue regularly.
“I’ve been talking to a lot of residents of late,” he said. “The feedback I get — the No. 1 topic — is just traffic. Speeding, aggressive driving and a feeling that there is insufficient police presence to deal with this.”
But police chief Eric Stubbs said the Ottawa Police Service is stretched thin. “We have a large city, and we don’t have enough traffic cops. Full stop.”
Stubbs also said the force is feeling the loss of speed cameras, deactivated in late 2025 after the province banned them, despite evidence that drivers reduced their speed around the cameras.
Stubbs did say the OPS has increased their presence around schools for the first two weeks of the new school year. During this period, officers were present at more than 50 different school zones and handed out 142 offence notices, including speeding infractions, and 132 warnings.
He also pointed to the success of other enforcement programs such as “#ResidentsMatter” which has resulted in the OPS counting close to 400 offences this year.
OPS Deputy Chief Paul Burnett also shared a positive letter thanking traffic officers for their work. It came from a community member pleased with the traffic blitz police conducted in Barrhaven last weekend.
“Hearing the sound of speeding cars made me think someone was going to get hurt. The noise on weekends is very disturbing,” Burnett read in the letter, which said the officers’ work “is so appreciated.”
But Desroches was unsatisfied. He questioned whether the numbers police cited would be felt by people in his community.
“It’s not enough.”
As a three-term councillor who has served since 2006, Desroches is seeking re-election on Oct. 26. His campaign website says he supports greater police presence as a means of enhancing public safety.
Burnett added that enforcement isn’t the only solution for improved traffic safety. Educating the public about traffic safety and about following speed limits are also important pieces in solving the problem.
“When I talk to them again, parents around the schools, it’s like they want zero tolerance,” Desroches said in response. “They don’t want education. They want enforcement.”