The Receipts: Raw Data Links Speed Camera Ban to 560% Spike on Parkside Drive
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
Analysis of City of Toronto open data suggests a link between the removal of automated enforcement and a surge in high-speed violations.
When looking at the raw logs from the City of Toronto's "Watch Your Speed" electronic signs, the numbers suggest a connection to a policy shift.
According to reporting from CityNews Toronto, the data is culled from electronic signage located just meters from where an automated speed enforcement (ASE) camera once stood on Parkside Drive. This data is made publicly available via the City of Toronto's Open Data Portal. The results are stark: in July, 3,675 vehicles were recorded traveling at 60 km/h or above on a road with a posted limit of 40 km/h. This represents a 560 per cent increase over July 2025, when only 556 vehicles hit those speeds (Global News Toronto).
This surge follows a specific timeline of enforcement removal. CityNews Toronto reports that the province passed legislation to ban automated speed cameras in late October 2025, with removal beginning in mid-November. The Parkside Drive camera was a focal point of this controversy; before its removal, it had issued 70,243 tickets, totaling approximately $7.5 million in fines, and had been vandalized and cut down seven times.
Safe Parkside, a local advocacy group, argues that this spike is a predictable result of Ontario Premier Doug Ford's decision to ban the cameras. The group notes a broader trend in safety: while Toronto saw its lowest traffic-related death toll in a decade in 2025 with 39 fatalities, the city has already recorded 29 deaths in the first seven months of 2026, putting the city on pace for 49 deaths (Global News Toronto).
Premier Doug Ford has defended the ban, characterizing the cameras as a "cash grab" and suggesting that physical infrastructure is the solution. Ford proposed the use of roundabouts and speed bumps to slow drivers, citing the safety of neighborhoods like Forest Hill and Rosedale (Global News Toronto, CityNews Toronto). The province has pledged $210 million toward physical traffic-calming measures, including raised crosswalks and replacement signage (CityNews Toronto).
However, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has pushed back against the notion that physical barriers can replace cameras on all roads. Chow stated that on arterial roads, speed bumps and roundabouts are impractical because they would hinder the passage of ambulances and firetrucks (CityNews Toronto).
The human cost of this transition is already appearing in the courts. CityNews Toronto reports that the family of a Toronto boy, who suffered life-altering injuries after being struck outside his high school, is suing the driver, the province, and the City. The legal action claims the accident happened at a hazardous crossing where an automated speed camera had been taken away months earlier.