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The camera went up after a driver going 120 km/h in the then-50 km/h zone caused a chain-reaction crash in 2021, killing two seniors, Valdemar and Fatima Avila. In March, Artur Kotula, 41, was sentenced to six and a half years for two counts of dangerous driving causing death, and a second concurrent sentence of four years for two charges of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

The city and the speed camera contractor are looking into measures to curb vandalism, a city spokesperson told the Star in an email.

“In addition to being pole-mounted, the Parkside Drive camera is remotely monitored so the contractor is notified in real time if the device goes offline unexpectedly,” the spokesperson said, adding all automated speed enforcement devices are equipped with an audible alarm.

The city “condemns all acts of theft and vandalism,” the city spokesperson said, adding cameras are typically installed near schools, parks, seniors’ residences and other areas frequented by vulnerable people.

Seeing the speed camera reinstalled is frustrating for resident and Safe Parkside co-chair Faraz Gholizadeh, he told the Star.

Gholizadeh doesn’t anticipate this iteration of the speed camera will survive any longer than those that came before it.

The city is “doing the same things, expecting different results,” he added. “I expect it’ll likely be chopped down within the month — maybe even sooner. It just feels like déjà vu.”

The city has been studying Parkside for years, Gholizadeh said, calling on officials to implement new safety solutions.

Last month, the city announced it installed 75 more speed cameras across Toronto at sites chosen based on speeding and collision data, which are expected to rotate every 90 days.

With files from Reagan McSwain and Mahdis Habibinia