Is this the most hated speed camera in Toronto? A timeline of the Parkside speed camera
At the edge of High Park, along a busy strip of a four-lane road, stands one of Toronto's most enduring mysteries.
Or at least, it used to stand. Sometime Thursday night or Friday morning, the Parkside Drive speed camera was cut down yet again for the fifth time in the last six months. The camera is Toronto's busiest, the source of more than 65,000 tickets and $7 million for the city since it was installed three years ago.
Toronto police have been investigating the vandalism for months; there are still no updates to their investigation, they told the Star on Friday.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Whoever is doing it is determined. Here's a timeline of each time the camera has been knocked down.
Gta
Who keeps cutting down the Parkside Drive speed camera? Our man on the beat investigates
Raju Mudhar
On or before Nov. 17, 2024
This iteration of the camera — hoisted beside the Parkside Drive roadway on a small metal poll — appeared to be sawed at its base and was found lying on its side. It had been installed in April 2022.
Nov. 29-30, 2024
Just hours after it was reinstalled, the camera was felled again — in the same way — late on the Friday evening or early Saturday morning.
Around 2:30 a.m., Dec. 29, 2024
A video, taken around 2:30 a.m. in the week after Christmas, shows a shadowy figure sawing at the pole. As sounds of a saw rattle through the neighbourhood and sparks fly, the camera tips over with a thud.
A nearby resident shared a video with Star of someone sawing down the now-infamous speed camera around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 29, 2024. As of April 19, the camera has been cut down four times within the past five months.
By morning, the camera had been dragged about 200 metres to its final resting place: the middle of the High Park Duck Pond.
The Parkside speed camera, cut down in the early hours of Dec. 29, is seen floating in the High Park Duck Pond.
Michelle Mengsu Chang/ Toronto Star
April 18-19, 2025
After standing for more than three months, the camera was felled again.
It had been redesigned, with a cubic metal casing around the pole. At the top, an L-shaped pole jutted out, holding the camera. This time, the vandal cut the L-shaped portion of the pole.
The Parkside speed camera on April 19.
Nick Lachance/ Toronto Star
May 22-23, 2025
The camera was reinstalled in mid-May with the same design as before. It didn't last long. It was cut down sometime Thursday night or Friday morning.
'It's just Groundhog Day,' said Faraz Gholizadeh, co-chair of the community group Safe Parkside. 'It's very frustrating and extremely disappointing that the city is just not acting on this issue, even despite everything that's happened to get us here.'
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