Parkside Drive speed camera vandalized for 3rd time this year

One of Toronto’s most notorious speed cameras, located at Parkside Drive near High Park, has been cut down for a third time.

According to the neighbourhood group Safe Parkside, the speed camera — Toronto’s highest-grossing speed camera with 65,392 speeding tickets and nearly $7 million in fines to date — was vandalized, removed from the side of the road and disposed of in a pond in High Park.

It’s the third reported instance of the Parkside Drive speed camera being cut down, with both other incidents occurring in November.

“Parkside residents continue their call for safety, and the City of Toronto continues to fail to address the dangerous conditions on Parkside Drive,” said Faraz Gholizadeh, a spokesperson and co-chair of Safe Parkside. “A speed camera that has recently spent more time on its side or in a pond than it has upright and functioning has fallen well short of addressing the dangerous conditions that persist on Parkside Drive.”

Safe Parkside says the most recent act of vandalism comes after it caught a motorist travelling 154 km/h, nearly four times the posted speed limit of 40 km/h.

The Parkside Drive speed camera was installed after two seniors were killed in a multi-vehicle crash at the intersection of Parkside Drive and Spring Road on Oct. 12, 2021. Since then, the city has implemented several measures to improve safety along Parkside Drive, including reducing the speed limit from 50 to 40 kilometres per hour and adding speed cameras and signs telling motorists to reduce speed.

City council endorsed the Parkside Drive Study last month, which examined safety and mobility along the corridor. It was conducted after seven collisions that resulted in five serious injuries and three fatalities between Aug. 2014 and Aug. 2024.

“Since its installation, the Parkside Drive speed camera has generated millions in revenue for the City of Toronto while providing little in the form of safety for Parkside residents and visitors,” added Gholizadeh.

“Parkside residents continue to sound the alarm on the dangerous conditions that persist on Parkside Drive, and the City of Toronto continues to fail in addressing the dangers.”

With files from John Marchesan of The Leader Spirit