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Edmonton photo radar revenue history and provincial share

Original source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/city-council-photo-radar-drop-1.5964955

Local snapshot (archived 2026-07-03): full-page PDF committed at sources/budgets/_archive/edmonton-photo-radar-revenue-history/edmonton-photo-radar-revenue-history.pdf.

Aggregated reporting on Edmonton photo-radar (automated traffic enforcement) gross revenue by year and the province/city split. NOTE: CBC article body was 403-blocked to WebFetch; figures below are from CBC/Culture Alberta search-result summaries and cross-checked against the City's own ATE report.

Gross photo radar revenue by year (verbatim from reporting)

  • 2016: ~$52 million
  • 2018: ~$42 million ("a drop of about 27 per cent from $52 million in 2016")
  • 2020: nearly $50 million
  • 2021: budgeted $41 million; revised estimate ~$31 million
  • 2022: budgeted $38 million; revised estimate ~$29 million
  • 2024: $24.699 million (City ATE Report, gross program revenue)

Province / city split (verbatim)

"Revenue from photo radar is split between the province and municipalities, with the province receiving 40 per cent and municipalities receiving 60 per cent." - Pre-2020 provincial share was 36.1%; increased to 40% in 2020. Victim services surcharge rose from 15% to 20% in 2020. - "The province had been increasing its share of photo radar fine revenue since 2019, squeezing what cities actually kept."

Decline drivers (verbatim)

"increased portion of revenue retained by the government of Alberta, restrictions on the use of automated enforcement and reduced traffic volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Post-ban (2024-2025)

  • Dec 2, 2024: province restricted ATE to school/playground/construction zones effective April 1, 2025; banned photo radar on numbered highways and ring roads; eliminated speed-on-green.
  • City projected a $14.6 million drop in photo radar and fine revenues (late 2024).
  • Province created a $13 million Traffic Safety Fund ($1M in 2025-26, $2M in 2026-27, $10M in 2027-28) shared across all 25 municipalities that had photo radar — for physical intersection upgrades, NOT police funding.

How much reached EPS

  • 2022 arrangement: $22.3M/yr transferred from the Traffic Safety & Automated Enforcement Reserve counted as EPS revenue in the police funding formula (the City's ~60% portion of photo enforcement revenue).
  • By 2024, the City frames the reserve as reinvested into Vision Zero safe-mobility road design, not EPS. The photo-radar-to-EPS pipeline narrowed as revenue fell.