Parkside Dr. speed camera vandalized for fifth time in past 6 months
The Parkside Dr. speed camera, Toronto's busiest and most vandalized traffic enforcement tool, was cut down for a fifth time in the past six months.
Advocacy group Safe Parkside revealed the latest malicious act on Friday.
'The lack of meaningful safety measures remains a big concern on Parkside Drive, a street that borders the city's busiest park, High Park, on the west side and is lined with residential family homes on the east side,' Faraz Gholizadeh, Safe Parkside Co-Chair, said in statement.
'Despite Parkside Drive's long and deadly history of speeding, the City of Toronto continues to overlook safety on Parkside Drive year after year.'
In response, a city spokesperson said it 'condemns any incident of theft or vandalism of Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) devices. Tampering with, damaging or stealing one of these devices allows dangerous speeding to continue and undermines the safety of all road users.'
The spokesperson added the city is 'working with the contractor on other measures to help reduce incidents of vandalism. In addition to being pole-mounted, the Parkside Drive camera is remotely monitored so the contractor is notified in real time if the device goes offline unexpectedly.'
The city says all cameras have an audible alarm on the device and are coated with a substance that allows the vendor to easily remove graffiti/spray paint.
The spokesperson said cameras will always be repaired or replaced to keep them in operation and while 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 the devices within a maximum of 30 days and report serious incidents of vandalism to Toronto Police.
The Parkside Dr. camera was installed after a speeding motorist killed an elderly couple in a horrific five-car crash in October 2021.
Safe Parkside says since its installation, the Parkside Dr. camera has become Toronto's busiest enforcement tool, having issued a whopping 67,786 speeding tickets and generated more than $7.2 million in fines to date.
Speed enforcement cameras in Vaughan repeatedly damaged
Parkside Dr. speed camera cut down for fourth time in five months
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Cops trying to track down 4 men, SUV after failed North York kidnapping
Police are asking for help in identifying four men who attempted to kidnap a person in North York. Toronto Police said they responded to a person-with-a-gun call Saturday at about 11:40 p.m. in the Don Mills Rd-Eglinton Ave. E. area, where the victim was walking before four men exited a car and approached them. CRIME SCENE: Missing child dies after being found Saturday in critical condition Pair wanted for vehicle theft, fraud in Etobicoke Police said one of the suspects pointed a firearm at the victim and demanded they get into the car. The victim refused and screamed for help, which caused the suspects to flee in a vehicle. One suspect is a white male who is about 5-foot-8 and was wearing a ski mask and black clothing at the time. The other three suspects are males who were all wearing ski masks and black clothing as well. Police are also looking to identify a suspect grey Audi SUV. Anyone with information can contact police at 416-808-5500 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477 or
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Man accused of touching, filming kids near school soccer event: Toronto cops
Police are probing a suspicious incident involving an unknown man allegedly approaching and picking children up as well as filming them and committing an indecent act near an elementary school soccer tournament. Toronto Police said officers responded on Friday at about 12:15 p.m. to a call for a suspicious incident at Earlscourt Park in the St. Clair Ave.-Caledonia Rd. Area. Police alleged that a man was around the tournament when he approached a child and picked them up and placed them on his shoulders. Cops said the child's mother confronted the man and he put the child down. The man was then seen filming the children on his phone, then asking the children their names, ages, phone numbers and addresses. The man was also seen standing near the playground committing an indecent act. He approached another child, grabbed them by the arm and asked the child to come with him, but the child broke away from the man and ran away. CRIME SCENE: Ajax man accused of sexually assaulting another teen girl CRIME SCENE: Bowmanville man, 22, accused of sex assault, uttering death threats The man fled the area in an unknown direction. He is described as 5-foot-8, 30-40 years old, with a slim build. He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a cream and pink-coloured shirt. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-1300, or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Scarborough coffee shop fire an act of arson: Cops
The latest of a recent rash of arson fires happened early Tuesday at a Greek coffee shop and social club in Scarborough. Toronto firefighters responded around 3:15 a.m. and extinguished a blaze at Elliniko Kafeneio Synantisi cafe, located in a plaza on Birchmount Rd., about one kilometre south of Ellesmere Rd. Toronto Police posted to social media that 'this fire is being investigated as a suspected arson.' At the scene, through the smashed front windows, some burned tables and chairs could be seen. There was smashed glass all over the front walkway, a pry bar lay on the ground outside beside a chair, and a red gas can could be seen sitting on one of the many green felt-topped tables inside. Peter, who was getting his hair cut in a shop next to the cafe, said he goes in once in a while to have a coffee. When asked if people play cards inside the club for money, Peter said 'it's cards, but not big cards.' 'Daytime, nighttime, a couple of guys go in there. They spend two or three hours,' said Peter. Inside the cafe there was a huge TV set with multiple CCTV camera screens and below there was a white board that read 'No Chips. No Cash' with a bunch of numbers written in blue marker. Another man who frequents the establishment, Tom, who was in the plaza looking at the damage, said he had gone in during the day around noon and some guys 'play Gin Rummy.' 'We stay a couple of hours and then we leave,' said Tom. 'I go in, have a coffee and watch TV.' At the rear of the building was a large brown leather card table propped on a wall past the opened rear door. Outside, along the back wall of the business, there were six video cameras pointed at the back door and rear parking lot. Two Toronto Fire investigators showed up just before noon, took some photos and spoke with Toronto Police officers guarding the scene. They left without commenting on what might have occurred. A call made to the phone number posted under the cafe's outdoor signage had an automated voice recording say 'the number you have reached is not in service.' In a video released at Toronto Police headquarters, Const. Stephanie Miceli said investigators do not believe that Tuesday morning's fire is related to two other recent cases of suspected arson in that general area. Police alleged two fires were deliberately set at Indian restaurants — one Friday, the other, Saturday — in the Kennedy Rd.-Lawrence Ave. E. area less than 24 hours apart. The first fire happened as staff were cleaning up at Sha'az Indian Cusine in White Shield plaza at Kennedy Rd. and Lawrence Ave. E. on Friday around 3 a.m. Three masked men smashed their way through the front door, said police, and poured an accelerant in the dining room area before setting it ablaze as a stunned female worker watched in horror before fleeing out a back door to safety with three other colleagues. Two restaurants in Scarborough neighbourhood torched in 24 hours Staff forced to flee as masked men torch Scarborough restaurant Surveillance video obtained by The Toronto Sun from a plaza at 1190 Kennedy Rd. shows two masked men approach Bisi Bisi Indian restaurant, smash in a window and light it on fire with an accelerant from a gas can just before 3 a.m. on Saturday. And on May 21, Toronto Fire said they responded to a two-alarm fire inside the ground floor of a commercial business office at Pape and Fulton Aves. that was set ablaze around 5:20 a.m. Three residents who live in apartments on the second floor were rescued and taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. Toronto Police said that three suspects wearing dark clothes, hoodies and masks 'were carrying red jerry cans,' according to reports given to Global News.
