Speeding on Parkside Drive in the city’s west end has increased by more than 200 per cent since the province banned the use of speed cameras, according to data from the City of Toronto.
Six months after municipalities across the province were told to remove the cameras, a local advocacy group says “Watch Your Speed” data reveals a 235 per cent increase in vehicles going 60 km/h or more compared to the same period a year ago.
“We’ve seen an unmistakable increase in speeding, we’ve seen higher speeds, we’ve seen some alarming, multi-vehicle high-speed crashes …we’ve seen it all, none of it is good,” said Faraz Gholizadeh, the co-chair of Safe Parkside.
“It’s unfortunate that we’re still in this situation, having advocated for safety on Parkside for many, many, many years, and it seems like there’s no solutions on the horizon.”
The Parkside Drive speed camera was installed in April 2022, six months after two people, Valdemar and Fatima Avila, were killed in a five-car crash on Oct. 12, 2021. It quickly became one of the most prolific in the city, issuing more than 70,000 tickets, resulting in more than $7.5 million in revenue. The highest recorded speed was 154 km/h – nearly four times the posted speed limit of 40 km/h.
It was also one of the most vandalized cameras, having been cut down at least seven times since November of 2024. In one of the most notable incidents, the vandals cut down and dragged the camera roughly 200 metres through High Park before dumping it into a pond in December 2024.
Chronology of Parkside Drive speed camera vandalism
- Nov. 18, 2024: Just three days after Toronto City Council approved a full redesign of Parkside Drive, the speed camera on Parkside was toppled for the first time.
- Nov. 30, 2024: Less than a day after being reinstalled, the device was knocked down again.
- Dec. 29, 2024: The camera was cut down and dragged roughly 200 metres through High Park and dumped into a pond.
- March 23, 2025: Camera was vandalized for a fourth time.
- April 19, 2025: Despite being reinforced with a thicker pole and updated appearance, the unit was once again brought down.
- July 9, 2025: Even under the watchful eye of a newly installed surveillance camera, the Parkside speed camera was targeted and damaged for the six time in just eight months.
- Sept. 6, 2025: The camera was cut down for a seventh time, just two days after surveillance video surfaced showing someone cutting it down earlier this year. It also marked the 29th time a pole-mounted camera has been cut down across the city.
Premier Doug Ford’s public push against speed cameras began in earnest after 17 automated speed cameras were cut down in Toronto over two days in October 2025. He reasoned that the cameras don’t work to slow down drivers, even though evidence collected by municipalities and Hospital for Sick Children researchers showed otherwise, and that speed bumps, roundabouts and big, flashing signs would calm traffic.
“Hand that over to me, I’ll show you how to do a roundabout in months,” he said in February 2026, after a City of Toronto report concluded it would take 13 years and $52 million to install traffic calming measures in its school zones. “I’ll show you how to do a speed bump.”
The City of Toronto had 150 automated speed cameras before the provincial legislation came into effect, and there were plans to add more, especially in school zones and other hot spots. It also pointed to the portability of the speed cameras, something that is not possible with traffic calming measures such as speed bumps and roundabouts.
According to Safe Parkside, multi-vehicle crashes have increased along the stretch of roadway since the speed camera ban came into effect.
“The speed camera was definitely helpful, it did remind people to slow down, to take care. It reminded them that this is a street where families and children are going to the park or coming home, and now we don’t have that. Now, it’s a free-for-all. It seems like speeding is no longer an offense,” said Gholizadeh.
Gholizadeh says while it’s easy to point the finger at the Ford government, the city also bears some responsibility. It’s been five years since a safety study was completed on Parkside Drive, and the neighbourhood has not seen any of the solutions that city officials said they would implement.
“Doug Ford inserted himself into the conversation about a year ago, but before that, this community had been struggling with the City of Toronto to get safety on Parkside addressed. This has been going on for two decades now. It’s cost people their lives, it’s shattered families, and still here we are in 2026 advocating for safety on Parkside. That is a massive failing on the local councillor, a massive failing on the City of Toronto, and there appears to be no end in sight, unfortunately, as the premier has put in heavy restrictions now, and what power they had has been taken away – not that they were using it anyway.”
Advocates note that the “Watch Your Speed” tracker only operates between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., so the amount of dangerous driving on Parkside Drive may actually be underreported.