Safety advocate, residents question council decision to make speed cameras more visible

Toronto is set to install larger, more visible signage around speed cameras, but a safety advocate and some residents near a busy street say the cameras are necessary to keep people safe. 

City council passed the motion on Thursday, which also limits how many tickets a driver can receive from a single camera before they get their first ticket in the mail. 

But Faraz Gholizadeh, co-chair of the community group Safe Parkside, said the city is focusing on "trivial" measures instead of redesigning roads that are unsafe. 

"What you need is changes to the street, something that will actually slow motorists down," he said. 

"Until the city realizes that, it doesn't matter how big they make signs. It doesn't matter how many speed cameras they put." 

Residents have long criticized Parkside Drive as dangerous, citing heavy traffic and frequent speeding. In March, a man was sentenced to six and half years in prison for causing a crash on the road that killed a couple. 

Gholizadeh said Parkside Drive is dominated by motor vehicles, leaving little space for pedestrians and only one sidewalk that does not meet the city's minimum width requirements.

"A street that's dominated by a wide, fast lane is going to be treated like a wide, fast highway," he said. 

The speed camera on Parkside Drive has been cut down five times in the past six months — most recently in May — and has yet to be replaced. Last week, Toronto police said five other speed cameras across the city were reported damaged within just two days. 

Janet Keeping, who lives near High Park and has family on Parkside Drive, said she is "a little skeptical" council's motion will deter drivers from speeding through them. Still, she supports speed cameras as a necessary measure. 

"You've got to make it painful … which in this case means, ticket them as often as possible and make the fines really large," Keeping said. 

The council's decision came after Coun. Anthony Perruzza, who represents Humber River-Black Creek, called speed cameras "speed traps" that are entrapping drivers. 

"They're painted an obscure colour, they're usually hidden. The signs are somewhat hidden," he said, speaking to reporters at city hall on Thursday. 

"Even if you know where these cameras are, often you'll go by the same location and you're in a distracted way … and you get another fine."