One of Toronto’s most ticket-heavy speed cameras was once again chopped down this week, marking the fourth act of vandalism targeting the same device in just five months, advocates say.
Advocacy group Safe Parkside says the Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) camera near Parkside Drive and Algonquin Avenue was initially installed after a deadly five-car crash killed an elderly couple in 2021.
Since then, the camera has become notorious for racking up more than 66,000 tickets and generating millions since it first went live in 2022.
The latest incident comes as the City of Toronto recently revealed their plans to double the number of speed cameras to 150 from 75. Last week, a spokesperson from the city revealed to CTV News Toronto that in 2024, they generated about $40 million in fines alone. That number is a stark increase from the $34 million the city previously collected over more than two years, from July 2020 to October 2022.
“Tampering with, damaging or stealing one of these devices allows dangerous speeding to continue,” the city said in an email statement on Saturday. “(It) undermines the safety of all road users, particularly those more vulnerable such as pedestrians, cyclists, children and the elderly.”
‘It was only a matter of time’
Faraz Gholizadeh, co-chair of Safe Parkside, said he learned about the latest act of vandalism from a concerned resident posting in their Facebook group.
“I wasn’t surprised,” he said. “If anything, it was more surprising that it’s taken this long for it to be cut down again. I guess the vandals didn’t want to deal with the winter weather.”
Gholizadeh says Parkside Drive’s physical street design contributes to the problem. With a residential area on one side and a park on the other, he says the street sees heavy pedestrian traffic, and questions why it’s designed like a multi-lane expressway.
“There’s nothing about it that screams safety. Everything about it screams speeding,” he said. “The street is designed in such a way that motorists feel like they own the road.”
Record fines, repeat destruction
According to publicly available city data, the Parkside Drive speed camera has issued exactly 66,231 tickets to date, generating millions since it was first introduced three years ago.
It has also been notoriously vandalized. In one incident just five months ago, the camera was chopped down and tossed into a nearby pond.
Gholizadeh says the destruction points to deeper failures in the city’s response to dangerous driving.
“These cameras are just a Band-Aid,” he said. “They are not going to solve the issue of speeding in Toronto.”
He says he wants the city to narrow the lanes and give consideration to pedestrians and cyclists.
Toronto police investigating
Toronto police say they are investigating the latest incident but do not have suspect information at this time. Charges, if laid, could include mischief over or under $5,000 they said.
The city also clarified they do not own the ASE devices, which they say are “vendor operated.”
“It is the vendor’s responsibility to replace or fix the devices within a maximum of 30 days and report serious incidents of vandalism to Toronto Police Service,” they wrote to CTV News Toronto.
Anyone with information is asked to come forward.
‘Not worth someone’s life’
Despite years of community cries and consultations, Gholizadeh says he’s lost faith in the city’s willingness to make lasting structural changes.
“They’ve been studying Parkside for years … they have all the answers. They know what they need to do,” he said.
Until then, he believes speeding and incidents along Parkside will only continue.
“Right now, the road is dominated by speeding cars,” he said. “People have died, people have lost family members because of reckless driving. Your one or two minutes of extra commute time is not worth someone’s life.”
