A Tale of Toronto: Parkside Drive Speed Camera Gets the Chop
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Ah, Toronto speed cameras. Love them or loathe them, you can’t deny they’re great at one thing: issuing tickets. The now-infamous speed camera on Parkside Drive has issued over 60,000 tickets and racked up more than $6.8 million in fines. It’s outrageous—a tax grab, plain and simple. But come on, everyone, let’s slow down out there. It’s not like the city is going to launch the Crosstown LRT anytime soon. But here’s the twist: it’s also become a prime target for what we’ll call "urban customization."
Less than 24 hours after being reinstalled, the Parkside Drive camera was cut down yet again—the second time in a single month! Residents discovered the fallen device Saturday morning, prompting some chuckles online and frustration from others.
For Safe Parkside, a community group advocating for road safety, the camera’s repeated demise is anything but funny. "It’s there for safety," said Faraz Gholizadeh, co-chair of Safe Parkside. "And for someone to come and cut it down the way they did, it just seems to be a lack of concern for what’s happening on Toronto streets."
But here’s the thing: has this camera actually made Parkside Drive safer? Sure, it’s issued tens of thousands of tickets, but according to Gholizadeh, it’s done "very little in the form of safety." The real solution, they argue, is a complete overhaul of the street—bike lanes, pedestrian-friendly designs, and more robust measures to protect everyone using the road.
The city, for its part, isn’t amused by these acts of vandalism. “Tampering with, damaging, or stealing an Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) device negatively impacts road safety and allows dangerous speeding to continue,” a city spokesperson said in a statement.
But let’s be real: for many drivers, these cameras feel less like safety tools and more like revenue generators. And in a city where major projects like the Crosstown LRT seem perpetually delayed, it’s easy to see why people are skeptical of the city's priorities. And when a camera gets chopped down not once, but twice in quick succession? It’s hard not to see the humor in it.
In honor of this peculiar saga, we’ve designed a special commemorative hoodie. Because while we support safety, we also love a good laugh at the expense of bureaucracy. Check it out here. The design is available on a selection of hoodie styles, so you can pick your comfort level. Let’s celebrate Parkside’s rebellious spirit—and maybe, just maybe, remind the city that true safety needs more than just a ticket machine.
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