~ by Chris #16 Demaras ~
First things first,…no. That is not my GMC in the picture above. But it could be any of us getting pinched. Speed cameras are universally hated by motorists who know they are a just a government cash-grab. Now, some so-called concerned citizens groups in Toronto, whose complaints prompted camera installation in their own neighborhoods, say they don’t reduce speeding after all!
Case in point, the worst of the bunch is a speed camera on Parkside Dr and Algonquin Ave next to High Park. Since its installation, the City of Toronto has collected over $3,000,000 in fines from that one camera alone.
Despite that speed camera issuing 3,502 tickets in September 2023, there has been no improvement to safety. Drivers simply slow down when approaching the camera, then speed off without a ticket. Almost makes you think that the natural flow of traffic on that street is not 40 km/h, and that setting an artificially low speed limit on a road designed to be travelled much faster is a scam.
Perhaps this is why so many mad motorists have taken the matter into their own hands, and vandalized speed cameras which they see as unjust. Reports of speed cameras spray painted, knocked over, and even set on fire have become common in Toronto. And it isn’t going to stop.
There’s a YouTube channel I hate called NOT JUST BIKES made by a Canadian guy now living in Europe, who blathers on and on about how great Dutch urban planning is. But I have to hand it to NJB; one of his videos explored why artificially low speed limits are simply ignored by people who otherwise would never otherwise break the law. He hypothesizes that the problem with speed limits is that most people don’t consciously think about what speed they’re going. We motorists drive at whatever speed feels safe and comfortable for the road we’re driving on. This is known as the design speed of the road, and if that doesn’t match the posted speed limit, then there is a problem.
Toronto could easily spend some of that $3,000,000 it collected to update Parkside Dr by implementing chicanes or elevated intersections. These proven traffic calming measures would slow down traffic, and drivers would automatically adjust to the safe speed to travel. Instead of a multi-use roadway with cobblestones and protected bike lanes, in Toronto we get signs. Stupid, ineffective yellow signs begging motorists to not travel at the design speed of the road.
Just look below. See little Timmy playing on a sidewalk, his head less than 1m away from a major road? What happens if his scooter topples onto the street; it’s a tragedy waiting to happen.
Making changes described above would cost money instead of making money, and it’s unlikely that City Hall has the political will to take this challenge. But they’ll gladly cash the cheques that the speed cameras write, pretending that they’re actually doing about road safety.
4 thoughts on “Group that Demanded Speed Cameras now say they DON’T WORK!”