Speeds on Parkside Drive in the city’s west end have increased more than 200 per cent since the province banned the use of speed cameras, according to data from the City of Toronto.Six months after municipalities across the province were told to remove the cameras, a local advocacy group says “Watch Your Speed” data reveals a 235 per cent increase in vehicles going 60 km/h or more compared to the same period a year ago.“This dangerous increase in speeding is as disappointing as it is predictable,” Faraz Gholizadeh with Safe Parkside said in a statement on Thursday. “Speeding is on the rise and safety on the decline on Parkside Drive once again.”Graph produced by Safe Parkside showing a spike in speeding along Parkside Drive since automated speed cameras were removed. SAFE PARKSIDE/SuppliedThe Parkside Drive speed camera was installed in April 2022, six months after two people, Valdemar and Fatima Avila, were killed in a five-car crash on Oct. 12, 2021. It quickly became one of the most prolific in the city, issuing more than 70,000 tickets, resulting in more than $7.5 million in revenue. The highest recorded speed was 154 km/h – nearly four times the posted speed limit of 40 km/h.It was also one of the most vandalized cameras, having been cut down at least seven times since November of 2024. In one of the most notable incidents, the vandals cut down and dragged the camera roughly 200 metres through High Park before dumping it into a pond in December 2024.Chronology of Parkside Drive speed camera vandalismNov. 18, 2024: Just three days after Toronto City Council approved a full redesign of Parkside Drive, the speed camera on Parkside was toppled for the first time.Nov. 30, 2024: Less than a day after being reinstalled, the device was knocked down again.Dec. 29, 2024: The camera was cut down and dragged roughly 200 metres through High Park and dumped into a pond.March 23, 2025: Camera was vandalized for a fourth time.April 19, 2025: Despite being reinforced with a thicker pole and updated appearance, the unit was once again brought down.July 9, 2025: Even under the watchful eye of a newly installed surveillance camera, the Parkside speed camera was targeted and damaged for the six time in just eight months.Sept. 6, 2025: The camera was cut down for a seventh time, just two days after surveillance video surfaced showing someone cutting it down earlier this year. It also marked the 29th time a pole-mounted camera has been cut down across the city.Premier Doug Ford’s public push against speed cameras began in earnest after 17 automated speed cameras were cut down in Toronto over two days in October 2025. His reasoning was that the cameras don’t work to slow down drivers, even though evidence collected by municipalities and Hospital for Sick Children researchers showed otherwise, and that speed bumps, roundabouts and big, flashing signs would calm traffic.“Hand that over to me, I’ll show you how to do a roundabout in months,” he said in February 2026, after a City of Toronto report concluded it would take 13 years and $52 million to install traffic calming measures in its school zones. “I’ll show you how to do a speed bump.”The City of Toronto had 150 automated speed cameras before the provincial legislation came into effect, and there were plans to add more, especially in school zones and other hot spots. It also pointed to the portability of the speed cameras, something that is not possible with traffic calming measures such as speed bumps and roundabouts.According to Safe Parkside, multi-vehicle crashes have increased along the stretch of roadway since the speed camera ban came into effect.“The only meaningful safety measure Parkside Drive has ever had, the Parkside speed camera, is no more, and the community is left to wonder when this decision will end in another preventable tragedy,” said Gholizadeh. “The warning signs are there for anyone who cares to heed them, as they have been for the last decade.”Examples of recent multi-vehicle crashes on Parkside Drive are shown in this photo. SAFE PARKSIDE/SuppliedIt’s been five years since a safety study was completed on Parkside Drive, and the neighbourhood has not seen any of the solutions city officials said they promised to implement, according to Gholizadeh.“This camera has generated $7 million – that’s practically enough to cover the cost of the redesign, and still they’re so unwilling to actually follow through on the redesign commitment, follow through on their safety promise and bring some safety to Parkside Drive,” he said in September 2025. “It’s quite frustrating and very, very disappointing.”