For the fifth time in six months, someone has decided to chop down the Parkside Drive speed camera.
The camera was reinstalled just one week ago after being toppled in mid-April. Now it’s back on the ground.
This latest incident is part of a rash of incidents that have taken place across Toronto. Last Wednesday, the city confirmed to CTV News Toronto there have been 325 vandalism reports involving its Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras so far in 2025 alone.
For residents like Faraz Gholizadeh of the Safe Parkside advocacy group, the repeated destruction highlights not just frustration, but a larger failure in how the city is tackling speeding and street safety.
‘It felt like déjà vu’
“I woke up, checked Reddit—and there it was, someone had posted the camera was down again,” said Gholizadeh. “I don’t live too far from it, so I walked down and yeah, there it was again on the ground. It felt like déjà vu.”
The camera was installed near Parkside Drive and Algonquin Avenue after a deadly five-car crash killed an elderly couple in 2021. To date, the ASE camera has issued more than 66,000 tickets and generated millions in fines. But critics, like Gholizadeh argue the problem isn’t just speeding; it’s the street itself.
“Right now, the street is designed like an urban highway,” said Gholizadeh. “Until the city puts in design changes such as lane reductions that force motorists to take caution and slow down, nothing is going to change on Parkside.”
Speed camera ‘wasn’t doing the job’
Even before vandalism began, Gholizadeh says the camera wasn’t doing the job it needed to, citing that drivers would strategically cut their speed when passing the camera before speeding up again.
“Right now, Parkside is a two-kilometre street. The speed camera is installed right at the end, so motorists speed down 90 per cent of Parkside and only slow down when they reach the camera — and then they speed up again," he said.
Residents in the area penned a letter to Mayor Olivia Chow, Councillor Gord Perks and city staff last month asking for changes to the design of the street — though Gholizadeh says he’s yet to receive a response.
“They’ve been studying Parkside for years. They have all the answers. They know what they need to do,” he said. “Why is someone’s commute time more important than someone else’s life?”
How are officials responding?
Toronto police says previous acts of vandalism in the neighbourhood are being investigated by 11 division officers and note that all cases are “very active and ongoing.”
In an email to CTV News Toronto, the city says they are actively working with the contractor to find other solutions to help reduce vandalism.
“The Parkside Drive camera is remotely monitored so the contractor is notified in real time if the device goes offline unexpectedly, officials wrote. ”All ASE devices have an audible alarm on the device and are coated with a substance that allows the vendor to easily remove graffiti/spray paint."
A city spokesperson also went on to emphasize that they condemn “any incident of theft or vandalism of Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) devices.”
Charges, if laid, could include mischief over $5,000. The city, which contracts vendors to operate and maintain the ASE system, says replacement must occur within 30 days.
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