So Toronto and the GTA has these new speeding cameras set up. It’s supposed to slow or calm traffic in busy areas. But in reality they put them on major arteries to collect revenue during rush hours.
If it was about safety they would put them on the side streets where cars speed through to bypass traffic and congestion areas. But that’s a different discussion.
So after a few years of this people were getting sick of being dinged for 10km over the limit and some started spray painting the lens or damaging the cameras. So the city out sourced them and they are on poles now.
Over the last year one camera alone has generated over 70,000 tickets and raised $8,000,000. It’s been cut down seven times since January. No one’s been caught but a citizen did get one crappy video from private property. No arrests yet.
The community wants the road changed as the camera isn’t enough but that costs money, whereas the camera generates revenue.
So the city said they were putting up more cameras and cracking down on the vandalism. A couple of days later, Tuesday iirc, after the city put up coming soon signs at least 16 cameras mounted on tall poles all got chopped in one night. They even had cameras mounted to watch the cameras and still no one was caught.
Apparently tax dollars are not being spent to repair or replace them. (Because it’s an outsourced project tax dollars already paid for.)
But now it’s become a political issue to get them removed. Our tax dollars hard at work.
