A lone Toronto speed camera has raked in a shocking estimated $3.6 million in just 17 months of operation, adding another $300k to the rising bill for local motorists over the course of a single month.

The Parkside Drive speed camera recorded a "dramatic spike" in speeding tickets issued in July, according to community safety organization Safe Parkside, which tracks City data on Toronto's most notorious automated enforcement device south of Algonquin Avenue.

Safe Parkside released a statement on Thursday sharing that a total of 3,502 tickets were issued due to infractions recorded by the camera in July 2023 alone, a massive increase over the 2,068 tickets issued by the camera the previous month.

July's tickets represent over 10 per cent of the total 34,508 speeding tickets issued by the camera since its installation in April 2022, and increase the total revenue generated by this camera from $3.3 up to $3.692 million in just one month. That figure is estimated based on the average $107 value of speeding tickets.

Only the first month of the camera's operation, in April 2022, generated more cash for the City.

The latest figures make Parkside Drive the highest-ticketed street in Toronto for the 13th time in just 17 months since the speed camera was installed.

Safe Parkside continues to press the City to improve safety on what is clearly a dangerous stretch of roadway, citing the upcoming two-year anniversary of a fatal crash that took the lives of Valdemar and Fatima Avila.

"The constant speeding which is putting everyone at danger, from pedestrians to cyclists to motorists, continues unabated despite residents' pleas for improved safety after the deaths of Valdemar and Fatima Avila in a horrific 5-vehicle crash back on Oct 12, 2021," reads a statement from the local organization.

"The Parkside Drive speed camera has been active for 17 months, issued tens of thousands of tickets, generated millions for the city, but has delivered little in the way of actual safety on Parkside Drive."

Safe Parkside argues that the camera is only combatting speeding in its immediate vicinity, and has shared videos that "show that motorists are only slowing down in the immediate vicinity of the speed camera rather than correcting their speeding behaviour."

Drivers slow down for Toronto's most infamous speeding camera - 📹 @safeparkside #Toronto pic.twitter.com/7CSXYASSjr

— blogTO (@blogTO) August 17, 2023

"It is only a matter of time before the non-stop speeding on Parkside Drive costs another innocent person their life," reads the statement from Safe Parkside.

"Safe Parkside calls on the City of Toronto to show their commitment to their Vision Zero promise and finally prioritize safety over speed on Parkside Drive through the addition of bike lanes and a road redesign that actually matches the 40km/h speed limit and 'Community Safety Zone' distinction."

The organization is pushing the City to move forward with a council-approved plan to transform Parkside Drive into a complete street, which has been left to idle with no forward movement for over two years, all as danger to road users continues to plague the neighbourhood.