Toronto’s New Road Safety Plan

In mid-May, Edward Keenan, a columnist for the Toronto Star, wrote an article noting the slight uptick in pedestrian and cyclist deaths at the hands of motorists in Toronto. His argument is that a road safety plan for the city is long overdue, but recognizes that there are some issues that may be impossible to address. For example, what kind of “protect yourself” advice could you give to a person casually walking down the sidewalk and is suddenly and unexpectedly struck by a speeding vehicle that has lost control?

“But I also understand other things. Like that the sheer volume of people travelling in cars, clogging up the roads in traffic, is the biggest impediment to moving around the city right now, so providing safe, fast, reliable alternatives is the best solution. And that a few minutes’ time spent sitting in traffic or driving less quickly is a small price to pay for preserving people’s lives.”

Someone at city council must have read Keenan’s article, because no more than a month later, a proposal began to circulate around city hall, one that intended to reduce the number of motor vehicle death and serious injury on Toronto’s roads. At a meeting of the public works committee, Councillor Jaye Robinson (Ward 25, Don Valley West) moved a motion asking council to “endorse the goal of reducing the number of road fatalities and serious injuries to zero” as part of the five-year plan.

According to Ben Spurr of the Toronto Star, the initial plan called for an investment of $68.1 million over five years, of which about $40 million is new funding. The money would be used to implement 40 safety “countermeasures” that include creating “pedestrian safety corridors” on high risk roads, redesigning select intersections, and lowering speed limits at 54 locations.

By mid-July, city council approved the plan, much to the praise and approval of advocacy groups and the families of victims of motor vehicle accidents. Mayor Tory signed the plan, calling it the first of its kind in Toronto’s history. Council, as part of the plan, intends to ask the Ontario government to ban pedestrians from using handheld wireless devices while crossing the street.