The Calgary police have received approval from the provincial government to reinstate photo radar at two city intersections beginning in October.

Last December, the provincial government removed the ability for municipal police to use automated traffic enforcement on all provincial highways, along with limiting the use of intersection safety devices for red light only. They had already banned its use on Calgary’s ring road.

At that time, Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors, Devin Dreeshen, said that if a business case was submitted that supported the use of automated traffic enforcement at a specific location, it could be reinstated.

Starting on Oct. 3, 2025, intersection safety devices and speed enforcement will resume at the following locations.

• Eastbound and westbound 16 Avenue at 68 Street NE
• Eastbound and westbound Highway 1A at Twelve Mile Coulee Road NW

Last year, there were 29 fatal collisions on Calgary roads, according to Calgary police. This year, with four months remaining, there have already been 25.

“We thank the provincial government for approving the use of automated traffic enforcement at these locations. They have proven to be dangerous intersections, and we know that implementing this change will make a positive difference for the safety of the community,” said Deputy Chief Cliff O’Brien of the Calgary Police Service.

“Automated traffic enforcement has historically played a vital role in the Service’s overall traffic safety enforcement, and we know that speed is a major factor in the severity of collisions.”

While traffic fatalities are on pace to hit another 10-year high, the removal of the devices is also hitting the Calgary Police Service budget. It was initially estimated that the removal of photo radar would blow a $28 million hole in the CPS budget. It was anticipated to impact potential hiring of new officers.

That gap was ultimately covered by Calgary taxpayers through the use of the city’s fiscal stability reserve.

Intersection safety is key, says Ward 10 councillor

Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot said excessive speeding is an issue at all times of day at 16 Avenue and 68 Street NE, with drivers regularly using the corridor as a drag strip.

At that location, there were 37 collisions in that intersection in 2024. So far this year, between January and July 2025, the highest recorded speeds at that spot range between 111 km/h and 192 km/h, according to CPS.

Chabot said that it’s a high-volume road and not just during peak hours.

“It’s so highly utilized that some additional enforcement needs to be implemented there, if only to save lives, because you get people speeding to that intersection to make sure they don’t get a ticket for running a red light,” Chabot said, noting there’s still a red-light camera at the location, but no speed-on-green.

“You get people that are speeding excessively to try and beat the red light, and meanwhile, if you got somebody that’s trying to merge onto that road from 68th Street and going northbound to eastbound, they could encounter somebody who’s speeding excessively, and it’s going to be a fatality. It’s not just an issue of catching people and making them slow down. This is about life safety here.”

Chabot said that he’s encouraged to see that the province is being more flexible with the use of automated enforcement, based on evidence presented by the Calgary police.

“To be able to look at our evidence and say, ‘OK, yeah, you know what, you’re right. This obviously was effective in reducing the number of fatalities, reducing the number of serious incidents in a collision, or fewer pedestrian issues,” he said.

“If we can demonstrate that to them, that this change has resulted in a negative outcome, then I think they’d be willing to revisit several other intersections in our city that we knew were problematic.”

At the Highway 1A and 12 Mile Coulee Road NW intersection, there were 20 collisions in 2024, and between January and July 2025 speeds were recorded between 121 and 162 km/h, CPS said.