A local group says that new data from the City of Toronto proves a moratorium on automated speed enforcement cameras could be leading to a massive spike in the number of drivers breaking the limit on a key road.
New figures recorded from light-up speed signs around the city show the number of people speeding on Parkside Drive has increased significantly since speed cameras were banned.
In July, a total of 3,675 vehicles went 60 km/h or above on Parkside Drive, where the limit is 40 km/h. That’s an increase of 560 per cent over July 2025, when the number was 556.
Safe Parkside, a local anti-speeding advocacy group, put the increase down to the province’s decision to ban automated speed cameras in legislation that was rushed through last fall.
“The consequences of Doug Ford’s ill-advised speed safety camera ban are being felt across Toronto,” the group wrote in a statement.
“Thirty-nine people were killed in traffic-related collisions in Toronto in 2025, the fewest in a decade. Toronto has already reached 29 traffic-related deaths in just the first seven months of 2026, putting Toronto on pace for 49 traffic-related deaths, an increase that reflects the sharp increase in speeding on our streets.”
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Asked about the data, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Parkside Drive should be redesigned to make it harder to speed.
“Put roundabouts and speed bumps, that guarantees to slow people down,” he said at an unrelated event on Wednesday.
“Have you ever went through Forest Hill or Rosedale? You can’t get from one stop sign to the other without hitting a speed bump or a raised crosswalk. There’s no speeding in Forest Hill, I guarantee you.”
A spokesperson for Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria said the City of Toronto hadn’t yet applied for the second round of funding offered by Queen’s Park to pay for design changes.
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“Toronto has received over $10 million through our government’s $210 million Road Safety Initiative Fund to put tangible measures in place, like speed bumps and roundabouts, to slow down drivers down,” they said.
“They have not submitted their application to unlock further funding through the RSIF which would enable them to put additional traffic calming measures in place to protect children and families.”
They said the 70,000 tickets issued by the Parkside Drive camera when it was in operation were evidence it did not slow drivers down.
Before the Ford government banned automated speed cameras — calling them a cash grab — Parkside Drive was the centre of the debate over their effectiveness.
The camera on Parkside Drive was vandalized and chopped down repeatedly — a road which was also the scene of a number of dangerous crashes in recent years
Several years ago, a suspended driver hit more than 100 km/h on the road, rear-ending another vehicle and killing two people inside.
Cameras dasent help.
Wher is Police?
Ford’s employees can now drive like Maniacs and never get caught on cameras again!
We’ll get our cameras and bike lanes back when slug ford is gone. If you criminals obeyed the law, we wouldn’t keep re-litagating all these old battles. Right wingers only care when something bad happens to them. Right wingers whine endlessly until they get what they want. Same people with campaign and protest until we get back was was stolen. #dofomustgo
Yet facts show that when speed cameras are there they have no effect on the speed of the traffic. Amazing how a few whiners seem to dominate this discussion. I guess they have never driven on the Autobahn or Autostrada.
BTW: they are not traffic calming measures. They are impediments to driving. Narrowing the roads cause more bicycle accidents. More damage to rear wheels hitting bump-outs. Speed bumps damage suspensions, and can cause drivers to lose control. They are a big bother to snowplows in the winter.
Roundabouts work great, they can speed up traffic, but only when there are enough of them that drivers learn how to navigate them.
Speed cameras are banned, get over it people and move on.
Speed absolutely kills people. The risk factor is not linear. From 50 to 60 km/h your survival rate drops by 30%. Conservatives need to understand
Speed doesn’t kill, stupidity does.
People whining is not news
It’s clickbait from a lazy journalist