The number of vehicles travelling at least 20 km/h over the posted limit on Toronto’s Parkside Drive is up more than 500 per cent year-over-year and residents say the removal of automated speed cameras is to blame. The figures from the City of Toronto’s open data portal show 3,675 vehicles were recorded travelling 60 km/h or faster on Parkside Drive in July 2026, compared with 556 in July 2025. That represents a 560 per cent increase overall. It is the latest in a series of data points suggesting a rise in speeding along the 40 km/h corridor since the province prohibited automated speed enforcement in November, 2025. “To the surprise of nobody, the streets around our schools and parks, where most speed cameras were stationed, have become vastly more dangerous,” Faraz Gholizadeh, co-chair of community group Safe Parkside, told CP24. A rising trend Earlier this year, similar data in May revealed that speeding had surged more than 200 per cent from January to April. Safe Parkside says the figures come from a city “Watch Your Speed” sign installed a few metres south of the former automated enforcement camera along the street. “We’re seeing the effects of a 560 percent increase in speeding,” Gholizadeh said. He said drivers are regularly travelling well above the posted limit, with some reaching speeds of 100 km/h or more. Gholizadeh said the long-term solution should involve redesigning Parkside Drive to make speeding more difficult. “Solutions are needed, not just on Parkside, but citywide, provincewide,” he said. Ford, Chow divided over cameras Meanwhile, at a news conference Wednesday, Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow offered sharply different views on automated speed enforcement. Ford argued that physical traffic-calming measures like speed bumps are a better way to slow drivers. “Roundabouts and speed bumps have guarantees to slow people down. Simple as that,” Ford said, adding that speed cameras in his opinion are “cash grabs.” He pointed to neighbourhoods such as Forest Hill and Rosedale, where he said speed bumps and raised crosswalks have helped reduce speeding. “Have you ever went through Forest Hill, 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 because they’re doing it right,” he said. Chow said physical measures are not practical on every major road. “I’ve always said speed kills, and we believe in speed cameras,” she said, adding that municipalities continue to push for their return. “There are arterial roads like Mount Pleasant that you cannot put speed bumps or roundabouts there because the fire trucks and the ambulances will have trouble getting through them.” She said the priority should be protecting children and other vulnerable road users because higher speeds can result in more serious injuries and deaths.
