On the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) between Brant Street and Trafalgar Road, the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) has installed approximately 20–25 pole-mounted traffic sensors for the purpose of monitoring vehicle speeds, presence, and traffic densities, as of January 2026. Costing roughly $25,000 to $125,000 for the devices alone, this does not include direct installation, software, or any related hardware (such as inductive loop sensors) required to ensure traffic data is aggregated accurately and consistently.
This stretch of freeway is less than 20 km in length, and with urban expressways in the province exceeding 500 km in total road capacity, this type of infrastructure, along with road weather information systems (RWIS), costs well into the millions.
With much of its use focused on updating overhead variable messaging signs and supporting long-term urban planning decisions, this infrastructure is rarely used to its full potential. Countries such as Germany and the Netherlands use similar systems to harmonize speeds during freeway incidents through variable speed limits and update signage proactively, such as congestion warnings or no-truck-passing zones.
More can be done to ensure drivers are better informed, introducing ESPR.
Embracing Speed Through Precision
EYEDELTA Systems precision response: Emergency
EYEDELTA Systems Precision Response: Emergency is an algorithm that evaluates the risk level of speed continuously in real time using a combination of mathematical and statistical modeling, as well as traffic microsimulations. Designed to shorten emergency response times on highways relative to risk, reduce the likelihood of vehicle collisions during emergencies, and provide operators with mathematically supported assurance on speed based on a variety of environmental, infrastructure, and human behavioral conditions, ESPR provides operators with recommended response speeds and notifies them of current hazards or risks to better anticipate unforeseen conditions in real time.
EYEDELTA Systems precision response: Transport
EYEDELTA Systems Precision Response: Transport utilizes similar technology to that of Emergency, with its primary focus being the reduction of collision risk for transport trucks navigating complex urban expressways and the weather challenges often encountered on rural highways. Key factors such as stop-and-go traffic, sudden braking, unexpected heavy winds, and whiteout conditions throughout Southwestern Ontario and around the globe create serious hazards for drivers. By dynamically updating recommended speeds in real time and indirectly improving driver judgment through these adjustments, this risk is significantly reduced.
