Speed camera catches one Toronto driver 15 times in one month

TORONTO — The number of tickets issued by Toronto’s automated speed cameras shot back to around the same levels seen when they were first installed in the summer, with one street in Etobicoke seeing nearly 2,900 speeders.

“I shake my head because it’s unbelievable,” Toronto Mayor John Tory told CP24 on Monday.

The speed cameras were moved to new locations during the month of November after being in their original locations since July.

As a result, the number of tickets issued went up from the high thousands in previous months to 22,180 tickets in December 2020, nearly tying the number of tickets issued during their first full month of service in August.

One camera placed on Stanley Avenue near Elizabeth Street in Etobicoke Lakeshore nabbed 2,888 speeding drivers.

“Twenty-eight hundred tickets at that one location alone,” Tory said. “Thirteen per cent of all the tickets (issued) on one street in Etobicoke.”

One of the drivers that clipped through Stanley Avenue went on to become the most heavily ticketed repeat offender in the city.

“One person got 15 tickets all in the past month – 15 tickets pretty well all in the same place – I wonder what they were thinking, what were they doing,” Tory said.

The repeat offender got all of their tickets either at Stanley Avenue or at Mimico Avenue west of Station Road.

There were 2,057 vehicles observed speeding more than once during the month.

The second and third most active speed cameras for the month were both located in Scarborough.

Birchmount Road north of Bay Mills Boulevard saw 1,836 tickets issued, with the highest one costing a driver $607.

McCowan Road near Kenhatch Boulevard saw 1,761 tickets issued, including the city’s costliest ticket of $718, where a driver was clocked going 99 km/h in a 50 km/h zone.

Fines range from $5 per km/h for those going 1-19 km/h over the speed limit; $7.50 per km/h for those going 20-29 km/h over the speed limit; and $12 per km/h for those going 30-49 km/h over the speed limit.

Victim surcharge and court costs of $130 are also added.

Tory says the cameras are a deterrent against dangerous speeding first, not a revenue generator for the city.

“Frankly, I am happy when the number of these tickets issued goes down every month.”

The 2020 operating budget said speed cameras are expected to bring in nearly $27 million per year.