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Town to install permanent radar speed signs in three locations

April 2, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

After the province ordered municipalities to remove Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras in February, the Town of New Tecumseth began exploring other ways to remind motorists to adhere to local speed limits, especially in community safety and school zones.

Council has directed town staff to install one permanent radar speed sign in each of the urban areas – Alliston, Tottenham, and Beeton.

Three locations have been recommended by staff for the placement of permanent signs based on average daily traffic volumes. All three selected locations are known to have issues with drivers exceeding the speed limit.

Radar speed signs are traffic calming devices that display the speed of approaching vehicles. They are typically programmed to display customized traffic calming messages when drivers exceed the speed limit.

In addition to providing real-time feedback to drivers, these signs can collect valuable traffic data such as 85th percentile speeds and average daily traffic volume.

Radar speed signs also serve to remind drivers of the difference between perceived speeds and the actual vehicle speed.

The town currently has 13 permanently installed radar speed signs. One sign was installed in 2024. The other 12 speed signs were installed in March 2026 as part of the Road Safety Initiative Fund provided by the Province to increase road safety in school zones and community safety zones without using speed cameras.

These signs were installed in pairs at the six former Automated Speed Enforcement locations.

The locations were selected using a multi-criteria approach that considered traffic volume, travel speeds, school population, historical collision data, and other relevant variables.

The town has been using temporary radar speed signs for several years and deploys them at various locations with speeding-related concerns for approximately three weeks at each location.

In an effort to expand the radar speed sign program, Council passed a motion in October 2025 to fund three permanent speed radar signs for each urban area in the amount of $28,000 to be funded from the ASE reserve.

Research has shown that over time, radar speed signs become a behavioural training tool for drivers.

If a driver passes by a radar speed sign daily and sees their speed displayed, they gradually adjust their driving habits to slow down in that area. 

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