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Part of Road safety rules, devices and barriers

Photo radar in Alberta

Guidelines to ensure photo radar is used effectively to improve traffic safety.

Changes to photo radar usage. Read Alberta is ending the photo radar cash cow.

Overview

Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) technology, commonly known as photo radar, is intended to be used to make our roads safer.

Effective April 1, all municipalities are required to comply with the 2025 ATE Technology Guideline.

Changes to photo radar usage

Over the past year, the Government of Alberta conducted a comprehensive review of ATE to ensure its primary focus is on improving road safety rather than generating revenue. As part of the process, government engaged municipalities and law enforcement stakeholders to gather input to inform policy changes.

On December 2, 2024, the Alberta government announced the following changes to photo radar:

  • prohibiting photo radar on all provincial highways and connectors
  • restricting photo radar speed enforcement to school, playground and construction zones
  • restricting Intersection Safety Devices (ISDs) to red-light enforcement only

A transition period between December 2, 2024, and April 1, 2025, was implemented to allow the province to work with municipalities to confirm compliance with the 3 policy parameters and remove inactive ATE sites.

Photo radar guidelines

Municipalities may submit business case exemption requests in cases where a site exhibits a high frequency and severity of collisions, compared to 5 similar locations.

The 2025 ATE Technology Guideline, governs how municipalities and law enforcement agencies employ photo radar in Alberta. The guideline comes into effect on April 1, 2025, and will be enforced. For more information or to submit an exemption request, refer to the guideline.

The guideline is based on 4 guiding principles:

  • Transportation safety is the only goal of ATE programs.
  • The Government of Alberta, police services and municipalities share a collective responsibility to ensure ATE programs achieve meaningful transportation safety improvements. Coordination and clear delineation of roles and responsibilities are vital.
  • ATE programs must operate based on evidence, incorporating measurable safety objectives into local traffic safety plans. Regular evaluations, audits and public reporting are essential for maintaining program integrity.
  • Transparency in program operations, including public reporting on ATE locations, safety outcomes and measurable improvements, is necessary to build and maintain public confidence.