There’s a conqueror in Toronto who just doesn’t get the recognition they deserve. Showing bravery and ingenuity, this hero did their civic duty for the 4th time this weekend, by chopping down the Parkside Drive speed camera. Some call it vandalism, but they’re wrong. This is civil disobedience against an illegal tax.
Since it was erected in 2022, the Parkside camera has brought in over $7,000,000 in revenue for the city by issuing over 66,231 tickets. It’s such a great cash grab that the Toronto Mayor held a press conference last week to announce the city would double the number of speed cameras by installing 75 more. While the disingenuous mayor spouted verbal diarhea about road safety, publicly accessible information showed Toronto’s speed cameras generated $40,000,000 in 2024, exceeding the $33,000,000 generates in 2021 and 2022 combined.
It is important to note that while speeding down Parkside Dr at 89 km/h would get the driver slapped with a $588 ticket, there would otherwise by no repercussions at all. Since the cameras can only identify the car but not the driver, no demerit points are issued against a motorists license. Recidivist speeders who use license plate blockers or flippers are guaranteed immunity since there are no actual police officers present.
Even the local residents association that demanded these cameras now acknowledges that the speeding problem in their neighborhood has not been rectified. The city studied Parkside three years ago yet implemented none of the suggestions such as bike lanes, speed ramps and chicanes which would change the ‘design speed’ of the road.
Critics and cynics say that those safety devices cost money to install, but don’t generate revenue for Toronto. Therefore there’s no reason to ever use such solutions to curb the speeding problem in Toronto neighborhoods.
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