Floating in the duck pond off of Parkside Drive in Toronto is a notorious speed camera that was cut down and tossed into the water. And it’s not the first or second time this speed camera has been cut down — it’s the third time.
Faraz Ghloizadeh, the co-chair of Safe Parkside, has been advocating for safety on Parkside Drive for the last decade. He said that on Sunday morning, he followed tracks through the woods that led him to the camera in the water.
It’s the third camera to be vandalized at Algonquin Avenue and Parkside Drive; the last two incidents were in November.
“And then again there was a two-week break where there was no camera. They finally brought it back. And here we are, Dec. 30, and the camera is shut down again. It’s deja vu,” Ghloizadeh said.
He is among the frustrated residents in the area who have been raising concerns about speeding on the road.
“Finding it a little funny that someone would go to such lengths to vandalize something like this that’s there for safety purposes. But ultimately, my frustration lies with the city that has been slow to act on addressing safety on Parkside,” Ghloizadeh said.
According to Safe Parkside, this is the city’s highest-grossing speed camera, with nearly $7 million in fines to date. In a response to Global News, the City of Toronto said this particular speed camera was installed on April 14, 2022. Since then, it has resulted in the issuance of 65,392 charges, with the highest ticket speed being recorded at 154 km/h, almost four times the posted speed limit.
“Parkside is a city-designated community safety zone, but you would never know it by looking at the street because it’s just dominated by cars,” Ghloizadeh said. “Do you have a sidewalk that doesn’t even meet the city’s minimum width for a sidewalk? It’s incredibly narrow. The street is very fast. Nothing about it screams community safety.”
The City of Toronto says there have been seven serious collisions on Parkside Drive in the last decade. The camera was installed after the death of two seniors, Valdemar and Fatima Avila, in 2021.
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Residents in the area believe it’s just a matter of time before a new one is installed.
The City of Toronto said it condemns all acts of theft and vandalism, however, it doesn’t own the automated speed enforcement (ASE) device.
“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 Services,” it said.
Ghloizadeh said that if the city is “serious about speeding,” it will “implement a speed camera on every block to ensure that the speed limit is being obeyed all throughout the street rather than in just a few square metres of the street.”
The city said it has “made several safety and road design improvements on Parkside Drive over the last few years, including reducing speed limits and adding signage.”
“However, the design of Parkside Drive needs to be updated to meet today’s safety guidelines and standards,” it said. “Proposed changes outlined in this November 13, 2024, report to City Council support the Vision Zero Road Safety Plan and the High Park Movement Strategy. They will also all fit within the existing space; balancing the needs of both vulnerable road users and drivers.”
Toronto police said they are not investigating as the incident has not been reported to them.
In the meantime, the City of Toronto said it will be exploring other solutions, such as pole-mounted options, to alleviate some of the vandalism issues.
But Ghloizadeh said there needs to be more immediate action.
“They can talk about the changes the speed camera has done, but the residents know the truth about what’s happening on Parkside. And if you ask them, they’ll tell you that. The street is still incredibly dangerous and that much more needs to be done before more people are injured and more people are killed.”
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