At the edge of High Park, along a busy strip of a four-lane road, stands one of Toronto鈥檚 most enduring mysteries.
Or at least, it used to stand. Sometime Saturday night, the Parkside Drive speed camera was cut down yet again for the seventh time in the last 11听months. The camera is Toronto鈥檚 busiest, the source of more than 70,000 tickets and $8 million for the city since it was installed three years ago.
海角社区官网police have been investigating the vandalism for months; there are still no updates to their investigation or any suspect information.
Whoever is doing it is determined. Here鈥檚 a timeline of each time the camera has been knocked down.
On or before Nov. 17, 2024
This iteration of the camera 鈥 hoisted beside the Parkside Drive roadway on a small metal poll 鈥 appeared to be sawed at its base and was found lying on its side. It had been installed in April 2022.
Nov. 29-30, 2024
Just hours after it was reinstalled, the camera was felled again 鈥 in the same way 鈥 late on the Friday evening or early Saturday morning.
Around 2:30 a.m., Dec. 29, 2024
A nearby resident shared a video with Star of someone sawing down the now-infamous speed camera around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 29, 2024. As of April 19, the camera has been cut down four times within the past five months.
A video, taken around 2:30 a.m. in the week after Christmas, shows a shadowy figure sawing at the pole. As sounds of a saw rattle through the neighbourhood and sparks fly, the camera tips over with a thud.
By morning, the camera had been dragged about 200 metres to its final resting place: the middle of the High Park Duck Pond.
The Parkside speed camera, cut down in the early hours of Dec. 29, is seen floating in the High Park Duck Pond.
Michelle Mengsu Chang/海角社区官网StarApril 18-19, 2025
After standing for more than three months, the camera was felled again.
It had been redesigned, with a cubic metal casing around the pole. At the top, an L-shaped pole jutted out, holding the camera. This time, the vandal cut the L-shaped portion of the pole.
The Parkside speed camera on April 19.
Nick Lachance/海角社区官网StarMay 22-23, 2025
The camera was reinstalled in mid-May with the same design as before. It didn鈥檛 last long. It was cut down again for the fifth time.听
鈥淚t鈥檚 just Groundhog Day,鈥 said Faraz Gholizadeh, co-chair of the community group Safe Parkside. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very frustrating and extremely disappointing that the city is just not acting on this issue, even despite everything that鈥檚 happened to get us here.鈥
- Raju Mudhar, Mark Colley
July 8-9, 2025
After being up for a little over a week, the Parkside Speed Camera was cut down again for the sixth time. This time, the camera was stolen, which is an escalation at least in terms of possible charges filed by the police, if and when they catch the perpetrators.
Residents in the area have competing theories about why it鈥檚 happening.
“I think it鈥檚 form of a protest. I know the constituents in this area have wanted things changed to make that street safer for a very long time and it鈥檚 going nowhere,”听said Cailin Stadnyk, 48, a resident who was in the area the morning after it was cut down.听
海角社区官网Police Service had also placed a surveillance camera on a nearby Hydro Pole, after the fifth time it was chopped down, but they never released any footage or suspect descriptions.
Sept. 6-7, 2025
After being reinstalled on Aug. 11, the camera almost managed to stay standing for a month, but was once again cut down overnight. This is the seventh time the camera has been taken down. The incident happened just days after the Star was the first to report trail cam footage of the fifth time it was cut down.听
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