Toronto eyes anti-vandalism options as fourth Parkside Drive speed camera installed

Article content

For the fourth time in two months a Parkside Drive speed camera has been installed after the first three were vandalized.

But Faraz Gholizadeh, the Safe Parkside Co-Chair, wonders if it will be enough to prevent the camera from being the victim of vandalism again with the third destroyed one still sitting frozen within High Park’s duck pond.

“The city is working with the contractor to explore other measures to help prevent and/or reduce incidents of vandalism,” said a city spokesperson. “We are also exploring solutions including pole-mounted options and remote monitoring that may help alleviate some of the vandalism issues.”

As for the old camera, “the City of Toronto’s contractor has reached out to park officials to coordinate the safe removal of the camera. At the moment, we do not have a timeline for removal available to share.”

According to a Safe Parkside press release, the Parkside speed camera has so far issued 65,392 speeding tickets with an estimated value of $6,996,944 – given the average ticket amount is $107 – and 154 km/h is the highest recorded speed to date.

The city confirmed both the number of speeding tickets and the highest recorded speed to date but couldn’t confirm the total amount collected.

“The total payable amount for an Automated Speed Enforcement ticket is dependent on the speed recorded,” the city said.

Safe Parkside also complained the city’s Parkside Drive study dates back to 2021 and safety improvements are long overdue.

The city countered this statement saying: “As a result of ongoing advocacy from many members of the community, including Safe Parkside, and support from the local councillor, several safety improvements have been made to Parkside Drive since 2021.”

Among them, the city said, are upgrades to the Howard Park Avenue intersection; speed limit reduction; installation of permanent “Watch Your Speed” feedback signs; a new traffic signal at Geoffrey Street; asphalt sidewalk near the Spring Road parking lot and trail access; new permanent parking areas; underpass lighting improvements; pedestrian head start signals at Indian Valley Crescent, Howard Park Avenue, Geoffrey Street, and High Park Boulevard; and a new traffic signal at the High Park Trail crossing.

The city added that in November 2024, City Council also endorsed, in principle, a comprehensive safety project on Parkside Drive and after detailed design and further public engagement takes place, Transportation Services will report to the Infrastructure & Environment Committee and City Council for approval.