The city will move at “lightning speed” as it looks to implement a total of 45 new measures aimed at reducing the number of pedestrian injuries and fatalities on Toronto roads in 2017, Mayor John Tory says.
The measures, which Tory unveiled on Tuesday, are part of the city’s five-year, $80 million road safety plan, which was approved in July.
One of the highlights is a plan to create senior safety zones at 12 intersections. The special zones will feature increased walking time for pedestrians as well as signage urging drivers to slow down.
The priorities for 2017 also include the installation of red light cameras at 76 intersections, the installation of 12 speed display units in the city’s downtown core and the lowering of
speed limits along 32 corridors. The city will also conduct 14 road safety audits at locations with higher volumes of collisions in 2017 and increase the walk time for pedestrians at another 50 intersections across Toronto.
“The government will be moving at lightning speed because this is urgent. These are preventable deaths of seniors and others, so you are going to see those signs going up, you are going to see the red light cameras going in and you are going to see speed limits changing at dozens and dozens of places across the city,” Tory told CP24 on Tuesday. “We have to learn in the 21st century that the roads are a shared space between pedestrians, cyclists and motorists and all need to act in a responsible manner to make sure we keep everybody safe.”
43 pedestrians killed in 2016
The past year was the most dangerous for pedestrians in Toronto in a decade with 43 of them dying on city roads.
Tory said many, if not most of the deaths, in 2016 were preventable, making road safety one of the most pressing issues facing the city going forward.
“We are doing all of these kinds of measures to make sure we take that number and take it to zero. That has to be the objective. To take it down to zero and to do that as soon as possible” he said.
As part of the road safety plan in 2016, the city installed red light cameras at 79 intersections, re-timed traffic lights at 37 intersections to give pedestrians more time to get across and reduced speed limits on 14 corridors.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Police Chief Mark Saunders said there is simply “no easy answer to pedestrian safety” and rather a number of initiatives need to be undertaken to make Torontonians safe.
“The road needs to be shared for everybody and everyone has to be aware of their environment,” he said. “The city is growing, demographics are changing, so we need to take different steps and different approaches in order to be successful and reduce loss of life.”
