Parkside speed camera cut down for 7th time in less than a year

One of the city’s most profitable speed enforcement cameras has been vandalized again.

The camera located along Parkside Drive was cut down at some point early Sunday.

Toronto police say they have been made aware of the incident and are investigating.

It is the seventh time in less than a year that the camera has been vandalized, and it comes just days after surveillance video surfaced showing someone cutting down the camera earlier this year.

The video was captured by a trail camera set up in nearby bushes by a concerned citizen and shows a shadowy figure using a step ladder and what appears to be a Sawzall, or reciprocating saw, to cut the camera down before fleeing the scene.

A spokesperson with the City of Toronto said Monday the latest incident marks the 29^th time a pole-mounted camera has been cut down.

“Vandalism is a criminal offence. The City of Toronto condemns any incident of vandalism of ASE devices,” a statement reads.

“The City is working with its vendor and the Toronto Police Service on solutions to prevent future incidents of vandalism, including remote monitoring of the camera systems to identify and respond to vandalism incidents more quickly, stronger poles for permanent cameras and other measures.”

The Parkside Drive speed camera was installed in April 2022 after two seniors were killed in a multi-vehicle crash at the intersection of Parkside Drive and Spring Road on October 12, 2021. Since then, it has become one of Toronto’s most prolific, issuing over 69,000 tickets amounting to more than $7.3 million in fines. 

The speed camera has been repeatedly targeted, first being cut down twice in November, with the second incident occurring just a day after it was reinstalled. It was again removed and thrown into a nearby duck pond in December. Then, in July, it was cut down despite a newly installed surveillance camera a short distance away. 

A statement from a local advocacy group decries the latest form of vandalism while also placing blame at the feet of city officials for continuing to overlook safety on a street designated a “community safety zone.”

“Lots of disappointment, lots of frustration, not just with the vandals but also with the City of Toronto for letting this continue,” said Faraz Gholizadeh, co-chair of the community group Safe Parkside. “Clearly Parkside needs more than just a speed camera; it’s been needing more than just a speed camera for two decades now, and they just seem so unwilling to address the root cause of speeding on Parkside, which is the design of the street.”

Gholizadeh says it’s been four years since a safety study was completed, and the neighbourhood has not seen any of the solutions city officials said they promised to implement.

“This camera has generated $7 million – that’s practically enough to cover the cost of the redesign, and still they’re so unwilling to actually follow through on the redesign commitment, follow through on their safety promise and bring some safety to Parkside Drive,” he said. “It’s quite frustrating and very, very disappointing.”