A safety review of Toronto's trail system has been launched after a five-year-old boy was struck and killed by a vehicle while riding his bike on the Martin Goodman Trail last week.
The accident happened along Lakeshore Boulevard, west of Jameson, in front of the legion building. In a news release issued Sunday, Mayor John Tory said in the area where five-year-old Xavier Morgan was cycling, the trail and busy traffic are “clearly too close not to pose a real danger.”
“It is past time for us to have a hard look at safety on these trails,” Tory’s written statement read.
Shortly before 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Xavier was riding with an adult westbound on the bike trail when he fell off of his bicycle and on to the roadway. The boy was subsequently struck by an eastbound Toyota Camry.
He was rushed to hospital but later died from his injuries.
Meeting will address bike trail safety:
On Monday, Tory said Public Works Chair Jaye Robinson will be meeting with the city’s general manager of transportation services and her staff to launch a safety review of the city’s trails.
“I fully support a review of these trails and the most pressing safety risks, and once that has been completed, I look forward to a discussion on short-term solutions and longer-term remedial action,” Tory’s statement continued.
“I would anticipate there will be some steps we could take immediately in places such as the site of last week's tragedy.”
Robinson said at Monday's meeting, staff will try to determine what options are available to make the bike path on the Martin Goodman Trail safer for cyclists.
"It is very challenging site to address but we are going to be addressing it," she said, adding that this summer staff will be reviewing the safety of both natural and multi-use bike trails across the city.
"There is 600 kilometres of bike trails... so we are going to zero-in on the multi-use trails that are close to fast-moving traffic and address those. But our number one priority is the Martin Goodman Trail after this tragic incident last week."
She pointed out that there have never been any prior collisions or near-misses in the area where the boy was killed.
"There has never been any problems reported so this really shone on a spotlight… last week on the challenges with that site. That is why we are trying to address it as quickly as possible," Robinson said.
City wants feedback from public about unsafe areas:
Speaking to reporters outside city hall on Monday, Tory said he wants the review to start with places where there is the "greatest sense of urgency."
"I’m sure we might find some letter in the file or some email from somebody saying that that stretch of Lake Shore wasn’t the way it should be. I want us to comb through all of those and I want us to hear from the public and hear from the cycling community and hear from drivers as to places where everybody feels uneasy," Tory said.
"Those are the things we should try to address first and then we can look at some longer-term changes as they’re identified to make sure that safety is placed first as it always should be."
The mayor said he hopes to see some feedback in the coming weeks.
"If there are places that are genuinely urgent or are found to be unsafe, then I want to get on with fixing those and it takes time to fix them as well so I hope the public can help us with this," he added.
Xavier's death, Tory said, serves as a "wakeup call" for the city.
"It is not any kind of overreaction," he said. "You can never overreact to the death of a child or any other person so we are going to do the review."
A memorial bike ride has been organized for Xavier on June 3.
Cycle Toronto says barrier needed:
Cycle Toronto spokesperson Jared Kolb told CP24 at city hall Monday that the city needs to put up some type of barrier along the bike path.
"I think what the real challenge is, is that in this particular place, the trail runs right adjacent to Lake Shore Boulevard, which as many people know is a highway," he added.
"When you have an interaction like that, that is so close together, what we’ve said, especially in light of this tragic incident… the city (should) really pool resources and put up a barrier. Put up something."
Kolb said Cycle Toronto is pleased to see the city is undertaking a safety review.
"There are more spots and specific spots across the city that are like that," he said. "We need to see some short-term action."
