Police officers took their warning about the dangers of distracted walking and jaywalking to the streets of Toronto on Thursday morning.
After a coroner's report highlighted a disturbing trend last week, police stood at about a dozen intersections throughout the city to urge pedestrians to be alert and not be distracted by cellphones, MP3 players or other gadgets while walking.
One pedestrian was warned three times not to cross mid-block, but still went ahead and crossed in the middle of the street, said police Sgt. Jack West.
“Had to hand them a ticket,” West tweeted about the incident.
Brit Taylor, who was struck by a vehicle almost five weeks ago, was on hand as police monitored the intersection of Danforth and Coxwell avenues.
Taylor suffered some fractures when she was hit by a vehicle while jaywalking.
“You don’t think it will happen to you but it has to happen to somebody,” Taylor told CP24’s Cam Woolley.
She urged pedestrians to pay attention to their surroundings and cross at intersections.
“It’s not worth jaywalking because you could potentially get hit,” Taylor said.
At least one pedestrian was struck by a vehicle during Thursday morning's commute.
A police spokesman told CP24 a female pedestrian was injured at Royal York Road and Cavell Avenue, south of Evans Avenue.
The woman suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, a Toronto EMS spokesperson said.
Seven of 17 pedestrian fatalities this year are a result of vehicles turning at intersections, police said.
Last week, Ontario’s chief coroner released a report that analyzed 95 pedestrian deaths in 2010.
According to the report, about 20 per cent of the fatalities involved a pedestrian distraction, including mobile devices.
The report contained a handful of recommendations to prevent fatalities and serious injuries, including lowered speed limits, side guards on heavy trucks, driver education, increased enforcement and pedestrian crossing islands on some roads.
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