Toronto councillor wants speed cameras shut off until September

A Toronto councillor said he wants the city's speed camera program put on hold and is vowing to prompt a vote on the matter at Thursday's council meeting.

Humber River-Black Creek Coun. Anthony Perruzza called the cameras "speed traps" in a news release and said he wants them shut off until September so city staff can review Toronto's approach to slowing down motorists. 

His appeal comes three months after the city doubled the number of automated speed cameras it uses to 150. The system launched in the summer of 2020, under former Mayor John Tory, with the goal of slowing down drivers in community safety zones, such as on roads next to schools, and areas where there have been serious collisions.

Perruzza, without providing supporting evidence, said in a news release the cameras have "no meaningful impact."

Perruzza's bid to pause the speed camera system comes weeks after Vaughan's city council opted to do just that after drivers there racked up more than 30,000 tickets in three weeks.

Perruzza said he's heard from plenty of frustrated drivers in his ward.

"Often, drivers are unaware that this camera exists here, and responsible drivers are ticketed despite traveling at speeds close to the posted limits," he said, leaving them feeling "unfairly penalized."

The city always posts signs 90 days ahead of a speed camera being installed, and keeps signage in place where they are running. It also maintains a map of the speed camera locations. 

By the end of 2022, the city had collected some $34 million in fines from speeding drivers caught on camera.

This March, Transportation Services head Barbara Gray maintained the program isn't focused on bringing in revenue.

"If the cameras generated no revenue, that would be best, because that would mean that people weren't speeding," she said.