One single Toronto speed camera has cost drivers over $3 million in tickets

Toronto's biggest cash cow of a speed camera has singlehandedly raked in over $3 million in tickets issued, and, like drivers on this stretch, it is showing zero signs of slowing.

A speed camera on Parkside Drive near Algonquin Avenue regularly tops the charts for tickets issued citywide, and outpaced all other speed cameras' ticket revenue yet again in May 2023 with a whopping 2,653 tickets issued that month.

This marks the 12th time that Parkside Drive has been recorded as Toronto's most-ticketed street.

To date, this single speed camera is responsible for 28,938 speeding tickets, which is estimated to have generated $3,091,551 in revenue based on the average ticket amount of $107.

Community organization Safe Parkside is speaking out about the continued speeding problem on Parkside, citing ticketing data to refute the City of Toronto's assertion of a "significant speed reduction" on the street.

Safe Parkside references a statement from Councillor Gord Perks on advancing plans for the City's Parkside Drive Study with a second round of consultations and final design in May, which did not play out as planned. Instead, the study has been delayed for a third time to Fall 2023.

The organization warns, "Nearly two years after the tragic & preventable deaths of Valdemar and Fatima Avila, residents' urgent calls for much-needed, evidence-based changes on Parkside Drive continue to go unheeded."

"Residents continue to warn that the excessive speeding will undoubtedly lead to another tragedy on Parkside Drive," reads a statement from Safe Parkside.

Safe Parkside asserts that current conditions remain unsafe for the community, calling "the existing fast and dangerous road design of Parkside Drive [...] in stark contrast to the street's 40km/h speed limit and 'Community Safety Zone' distinction."

One single Toronto speed camera has cost drivers nearly $2.3 million in tickets https://t.co/bVRzAcBv9n #Toronto

— blogTO (@blogTO) March 15, 2023

Safe Parkside urges the City to come up with "a data-driven Complete Street approach that prioritizes the safety of vulnerable road users," as pledged in Toronto's controversial Vision Zero plan.