Below is an excerpt from a CP24 article about speed camera vandalization in Toronto. We at Demaras Racing would like to note that the proximity of our world headquarters in East York to the repeated ‘tipping over’ of a camera at St. Clair Avenue East and Marilyn Cres is purely co-incidental.
One speed camera in Bloor West Village was spray painted on 31 different occasions over the span of just a few months last year. Another located near an elementary school in Toronto’s east end was tipped over a total of 19 times, temporarily knocking it out of service for multiple days on at least three of those occasions. A third camera, in Scarborough’s Highland Creek neighbourhood, was moved by vandals despite weighing hundreds of pounds. It was out of service for eight days as a result. These are just some of the 555 incidents of speed camera vandalism reported between June 1, 2022 and May 31, 2023 and detailed in documents obtained by CP24.com through a freedom of information request.
The documents show that three years after Toronto began its automated speed camera enforcement program, the devices continue to be regularly targeted by disgruntled drivers, complicating the city’s efforts to crack down on speeding and reduce pedestrian fatalities as part of its Vision Zero program. The documents obtained by CP24 show that Toronto’s automated speed enforcement cameras were out of service for a total of 279 days due to vandalism over the course of a year.
Many of the incidents were minor in nature – there were 222 times that a speed camera was spray painted, the vast majority of which didn’t result in the loss of any service time. But there were 94 instances in which speed cameras were moved and another 134 in which they were tipped over. The documents also reveal a pattern of vandalism, with some of the cameras being repeatedly targeted.
One camera on St. Clair Avenue west of Marilyn Crescent in Toronto’s east end, for example, was tipped over on three consecutive days in October of last year. The final incident knocked it out of service for six days. One day after it was reinstalled and turned back on, it was tipped over again.
Not that I am in favor of those money maker machines, but one thing baffles me: why the City of Toronto chose those “close to the ground” cameras? They are basically begging to be vandalized. In other cities that I have lived, the cameras are “safe”, sitting on top of high poles. Can you imagine how much money they are spending fixing and replacing those cameras?