Ottawa police say they don\u2019t have the resources to enforce traffic safety across the city despite concerns by some residents about speeding and unsafe driving.<\/p>\n
Riverside South-Findlay Coun. Steve Desroches said, during the Sept. 28 Police Services Board meeting, that residents of his ward raise the issue regularly. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been talking to a lot of residents of late,\u201d he said. \u201cThe feedback I get \u2014 the No. 1 topic \u2014 is just traffic. Speeding, aggressive driving and a feeling that there is insufficient police presence to deal with this.\u201d<\/p>\n
But police chief Eric Stubbs said the Ottawa Police Service is stretched thin. \u201cWe have a large city, and we don\u2019t have enough traffic cops. Full stop.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stubbs also said the force is feeling the loss of speed cameras<\/a>, deactivated in late 2025 after the province banned them, despite evidence that drivers reduced their speed<\/a> around the cameras.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n He also pointed to the success of other enforcement programs such as \u201c#ResidentsMatter\u201d which has resulted in the OPS counting close to 400 offences this year.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cHearing the sound of speeding cars made me think someone was going to get hurt. The noise on weekends is very disturbing,\u201d Burnett read in the letter, which said the officers\u2019 work \u201cis so appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n But Desroches was unsatisfied. He questioned whether the numbers police cited would be felt by people in his community.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n