Police say that they are concerned with a rise in the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed on city roads.
Statistics released by Toronto police on Wednesday morning revealed that 38 pedestrians and four cyclists have been killed in collisions so far this year, compared to 32 pedestrians and three cyclists by this point in 2017.
If the trend continues, it is likely that the number of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities will surpass the record 44 that were recorded back in 2016.
The 10-year average for pedestrian deaths in any given year is 30, though the number has not been at or below that threshold since 2012.
“It is definitely concerning. We throw a lot of statistics around but each statistic, each number is a real person and there are families, friends, loved ones and communities that are impacted,” Sgt. Brett Moore of the Traffic Services unit told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday. “We always want to remind folks that there are real people behind these incidents.”
There were a total of four pedestrians that died in collisions on GTA roads between Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, including one 57-year-old man who was struck and killed by a vehicle in Scarborough on Tuesday night.
Moore said that a lot of collisions involving pedestrians are preventable and could be avoided through a reduction in speed or by eliminating distractions.
He said that while some progress has been made as part of the city’s Vision Zero Strategy, incidents continue to occur with alarming frequency.
Vision Zero is a five-year initiative aimed at reducing the number of pedestrian fatalities through a variety of measures, such as extended sidewalks, advance green lights for pedestrians and improved pavement markings and lighting.
Council had initially planned to invest $21 million in the plan in 2018 but signed off on an additional $22 million in funding in June after a number of pedestrian deaths,.
“Rarely does a week go by when we don’t have media coverage about traffic crimes and road safety,” Moore lamented.
