A local group says that new data from the City of Toronto proves a moratorium on automated speed enforcement cameras could be leading to a massive spike in the number of drivers breaking the limit on a key road.
New figures recorded from light-up speed signs around the city show the number of people speeding on Parkside Drive has increased significantly since speed cameras were banned.
In July, a total of 3,675 vehicles went 60 km/h or above on Parkside Drive, where the limit is 40 km/h. That’s an increase of 560 per cent over July 2025, when the number was 556.
Safe Parkside, a local anti-speeding advocacy group, put the increase down to the province’s decision to ban automated speed cameras in legislation that was rushed through last fall.
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“The consequences of Doug Ford’s ill-advised speed safety camera ban are being felt across Toronto,” the group wrote in a statement.
“Thirty-nine people were killed in traffic-related collisions in Toronto in 2025, the fewest in a decade. Toronto has already reached 29 traffic-related deaths in just the first seven months of 2026, putting Toronto on pace for 49 traffic-related deaths, an increase that reflects the sharp increase in speeding on our streets.”
Asked about the data, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Parkside Drive should be redesigned to make it harder to speed.
“Put roundabouts and speed bumps, that guarantees to slow people down,” he said at an unrelated event on Wednesday.
“Have you ever went through Forest Hill or Rosedale? You can’t get from one stop sign to the other without hitting a speed bump or a raised crosswalk. There’s no speeding in Forest Hill, I guarantee you.”
Before the Ford government banned automated speed cameras — calling them a cash grab — Parkside Drive was the centre of the debate over their effectiveness.
The camera on Parkside Drive was vandalized and chopped down repeatedly — a road which was also the scene of a number of dangerous crashes in recent years
Several years ago, a suspended driver hit more than 100 km/h on the road, rear-ending another vehicle and killing two people inside.
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