Request Traffic Camera Video Footage

We cannot guarantee we have the video you want.

If emergency services attended the incident and it was within view of a nearby traffic camera that captured the incident, then it is probable that the City may have archived the footage you are requesting.

The City archives still camera images from cameras at key city intersections. Archived still images are accessible through the traffic camera footage request portal. Once you input the event location, date and time, there is a camera preview to see still images over the last 30 days. This will help you decide if your incident was in the frame of view of a nearby camera.

Video from traffic cameras is automatically deleted after 30 days and is unrecoverable. However, the City archives video of collisions we are made aware of past 30 days for road safety and engineering purposes.

Videos older than 30 days may still be available if we were aware of the collision and it was visible on camera.

This archive dates back to 2011.

Reasons a video is unavailable at the time of request include:

• the collision was out of frame
• technical issues

• the customer requests video where we don't own a camera nearby

• we were not notified of the incident to archive it before its data was overwritten after 30 days

Due to privacy and safety concerns, staff only archive video when the collision is clearly visible on the camera. Recordings end before any sensitive or personal information of the parties involved in the incident are identifiable.

There is a non-refundable fee for requesting video footage. The fee covers costs to the City to process requests and search for the described video. The fee is not for the video footage itself.

If any details from your original request were incorrect (like location, date, or time) we will search again at no additional cost.

No. Since the cameras are for traffic monitoring and management, the default position is set to be zoomed out to a wide angle view. The resolution is also intentionally set low so that video will not capture license plates or a person’s face to protect the public's right to privacy.

We cannot enhance the quality of the video to be able to view license plates.

Our FOI team reviews videos and documentation for videos that contain visible impact to vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists, etc. This prevents the disclosure of sensitive information.

The City adheres to Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) requirements before disclosing video footage.

When a video potentially contains identifiable personal information, consent to disclosure forms for all affected individuals whose movements are visible in the video are required. Then, our staff can analyze the footage to protect privacy.

Download Form

Send the form to traffic@surrey.ca and include your service request number or order ID.

All requested video footage is sent to the requester securely via the City's Managed File Transfer system. A link is sent to the email address provided with the request. Video footage will only be sent to the original requester and cannot be released to third parties.

In-person pickup is not available.

The videos we provide are best viewed in VLC media player. You can download VLC for free from their website. We may not be able to support issues encountered using other media players.

The video recording file compression and brief interruptions in data communications as the video is being recorded sometimes results in pixelation, or artifacts, in the video image. These artifacts cannot be corrected once they are recorded.