Vandals have taken down the Parkside Drive speed camera in Toronto for the third time in recent weeks
- Thread starter Vinson
- Start date
Here is a thought.... install the camera and it's pole on top of a cement pole. Let's see someone saw that down.
And/or install some nice speed bumps on the road. Nothing too harsh. Just enough to bottom out someone driving 15 k over the limit.
It is foolish to believe this is not costing taxpayers anything. The added cost of having the police patrol for this as well ad the effort the city wastes with the dealing with the issue. Also, I would assume the company that provides this service factors in this expense which is baked in to their fees.
It is a safety concern first and foremost. Lost someone who was hit by a driver doing 25 kmph. And that was the speed limit. Image being hit at 50 or 60?
Lastly, it is a nice sin tax for the city. Better this than raise property taxes.
And/or install some nice speed bumps on the road. Nothing too harsh. Just enough to bottom out someone driving 15 k over the limit.
It is foolish to believe this is not costing taxpayers anything. The added cost of having the police patrol for this as well ad the effort the city wastes with the dealing with the issue. Also, I would assume the company that provides this service factors in this expense which is baked in to their fees.
It is a safety concern first and foremost. Lost someone who was hit by a driver doing 25 kmph. And that was the speed limit. Image being hit at 50 or 60?
Lastly, it is a nice sin tax for the city. Better this than raise property taxes.
Impossible for the drivers they get to plow the roads now. Especially last winter with how much snow we got, my mailbox is thrice a victim.
I'm not saying you're wrong per se, but this is what I found on google AI
‘Nothing but a tax grab’: Ford warns municipalities to get rid of speed cameras or he will
www.cp24.com
‘Nothing but a tax grab’: Ford warns municipalities to get rid of speed cameras or he will
Premier Doug Ford says he plans to take matters into his own hands if Ontario municipalities don’t 'get rid of speed cameras' in short order.
www.cp24.com
While we're at it, can someone cut down the speed camera on Mortimer east of Broadview?
Yeah right.
20 over on a 30, or a 40 or a 50 or a 60 or even a 70 or a 80 kph road is an open invitation kill, maim, dismember and destroy.
Lunacy.
Just do your own job!‘Nothing but a tax grab’: Ford warns municipalities to get rid of speed cameras or he will
‘Nothing but a tax grab’: Ford warns municipalities to get rid of speed cameras or he will
Premier Doug Ford says he plans to take matters into his own hands if Ontario municipalities don’t 'get rid of speed cameras' in short order.
Speaking of lunacy, do you actually believe a speed camera would've prevented a man who was driving at 100 km/h in a 50 km/h zone from plowing into the Toyota stopped at a red light? The answer is no. He was an irresponsible driver, who failed to stop and ran into the car, killing an elderly couple. Typical stopping distance from 100 km/h is between 7-9 car lengths. The reason he ran into the stopped car, was because he failed to apply the brakes in time. Unfortunately, a speed camera wasn't going to save them that day. In fact, by the sounds of it, the driver probably would've blown through the red light, had the Toyota not been stopped for it.
I'm sure if you if you were to analyze the data, that camera has caught many vehicles traveling way over the limit. Yet, they rarely leads to serious collisions. That's the reality.
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Because speed bumps (or speed humps) significantly slow down police, fire and ambulance services, increasing emergency response times and potentially causing delays. The added vertical motion can also be painful or even dangerous for patients, especially those with spinal injuries. As a result, these devices are generally avoided on primary emergency routes.
Do bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge, and University Avenue also not slow down police, fire and ambulance services??
Yes they do, but not as much as speed bumps. Parkside is a major north/south thoroughfare for emergency vehicles.
The problem, as it stands today, is that Ford will have them removed due to the complaints. I was in Vaughan last week. I was driving along Rutherford at 60km, ok, I was doing 70ish, but then boom, I spotted a speed camera notice and a warning of 50KM...this is on Rutherford, 4 lane traffic, 2 pm, not a kid in sight. I quickly slow down to 50 to avoid a ticket and I get a dude behind me on my tail, frustrated and giving me the evil eye. I guess he didn't notice the warning.
Not exactly a "perfect" solution. They don't work for police and ambulances.
TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford wants municipalities to get rid of automated speed cameras — or else he will.
The City of Toronto said Tuesday that several automated speed cameras were cut down in recent days, part of an ongoing trend that has seen 800 incidents of vandalism against the cameras reported to the city this year.
Ford called the cameras nothing more than a cash grab for the city and suggested there are better ways to deter speeding, particularly in school zones.
"If you want to slow down traffic at school, you put the big huge signs, big flashing lights, 'Crossing Area,'" he said after an unrelated speech Tuesday morning.
"People will slow down."
Toronto first asked for speed cameras back in 2016 and a year later, then-premier Kathleen Wynne made changes to the Highway Traffic Act to allow for automated speed camera use in school and community zones.
Toronto has had 75 automated speed cameras for years, and the city said in January it would be adding 75 more by the end of this year.
However, Ford indicated he has other plans.
"Hopefully the cities will get rid of them like Mayor (Steven) Del Duca did in Vaughan, or I'm going to help them get rid of them very shortly," he said.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles scoffed when she heard the premier's comments.
"What an idiotic thing to say," she said.
The cameras are about trying to ensure road safety, aside from the issue of municipal revenue generation, Stiles said.
"I think that if you're speeding, you should stop speeding, because kids are going to get killed and pedestrians get killed, and nobody, nobody wants to hurt anyone," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2025.
Allison Jones and Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
Looks like the Premier is going to step in and resolve the issue!
