The Parkside Drive speed camera has been cut down and dumped in a High Park duck pond in the third act of vandalism since mid-November.
“The Parkside Drive speed camera was cut down once again, leaving this dangerous street with little in the form of safety,” Faraz Gholizaden, co-chair of advocacy group Safe Parkside, said in a release on Monday.
“This time, however, the vandalism did not end once the speed camera had been toppled. The speed camera was then dragged through High Park and dumped in the duck pond, where it currently remains.”
The camera was first cut down on Nov. 17 and then again on Nov. 29, but it was left on its side on site.
The camera was installed in the wake of an October 2021 five-vehicle collision caused by a speeding driver on Parkside that killed Little Portugal residents Fatima and Valdemar Avila.
“A speed camera that has recently spent more time on its side or in a pond than it has upright and functioning has clearly fallen well short of addressing the dangerous conditions that persist on Parkside Drive,” Gholizaden noted.
City statistics show there have been seven killed or seriously injured in collisions on Parkside Drive in the last 10 years.
“The City of Toronto condemns all acts of theft and vandalism. Tampering with, damaging or stealing an Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) device negatively impacts road safety and allows dangerous speeding to continue near vulnerable road users,” a spokesman said in an email.
“The City does not own any of the ASE devices as they are a vendor-provided service — it is the vendor’s responsibility to replace or fix devices.”
The latest Parkside speed camera data from the city shows the total number of speeding tickets issued is 65,392 with an estimated value of $6,996,944.
The highest recorded speed by the Parkside Drive speed camera was 154 km/h, which is nearly four times the posted limit of 40 km/h.
“Parkside residents continue to sound the alarm on the dangerous conditions that persist on Parkside Dr. and the City of Toronto continues to fail in addressing the dangers,” Gholizaden added.
“The lack of meaningful safety measures remains a big concern on Parkside Dr., a street that is bordered by residential homes on the east side and the city’s busiest park.”