Serious traffic crashes drop to five-year low

The number of collisions actually rose in 2019, but fewer people were injured in those crashes

Hamilton recorded five-year lows in the number of traffic crashes with injuries as well as those involving cyclists in 2019.

But city traffic staff said more must be done to protect “vulnerable users” like cyclists and pedestrians, particularly at crash hot spots revealed in statistics along major corridors like Upper James and Main streets.

The city’s latest annual collision report shows total crashes actually rose last year to 9,876, but fewer of them resulted in death or injury — 1,477 — than in any of the last five years.

Car-versus-bike crashes have also dropped from 193 in 2016 to 128 last year — although months of construction on the city’s most popular two-way bike path might have skewed numbers in 2019.

Regardless, traffic planners are heartened by the “trend of collisions becoming less severe,” said transportation operations director Edward Soldo.

He noted close to 80 per cent of cycling collisions result in serious injury and expressed hope the decline in serious bike injuries is due at least in part to the addition of “75 lane-kilometres” of cycling lanes or paths since 2015.

But Soldo also added the five years of data revealed “highfrequency” collision locations — particularly when it comes to pedestrian injuries — that the city must explore in more detail.

Of the 14 fatal collisions in the city last year, six involved pedestrians. The number of crashes involving pedestrians has also stayed largely steady for the past three years, between 245 and 247 annually.

The four intersections that saw the most frequent serious crashes — those involving injuries or death — over the past five years were all located along the largely one-way Main Street corridor.

That includes an average of 27 per year at both Main and Dundurn Street and Main at John Street — with the latter also hosting the most pedestrian injuries last year with five.

Soldo said it is “not surprising” to see more collisions on one of the city’s busiest traffic arteries, which flows about 2,700 vehicles per hour near Main and Queen. “The more volume you have, the more opportunity for conflict,” he said.

Along the corridor, the city has already adjusted signal timings and painted new pedestrian markings at Main and Dundurn, and will eventually convert fast-moving Queen Street to two-way traffic through the Main intersection.

But Soldo is also recommending changes to Upper James Street, which shows up repeatedly on the list of frequent, serious “midblock” collisions over the last five years.

Councillors signed off Wednesday on a series of proposed “pedestrian friendly” improvements on the Mountain artery, including strategically relocating or adding traffic signals, moving red-light cameras and installing planter boxes.

A council committee is also studying possible changes to truck routes fingered as unsafe by some residents.

In the short term, the city is also adding pandemic protections to some of its bike lanes in the hopes of luring new riders and taking the pressure off HSR buses that cannot fill to capacity over COVID-19 concerns.

The pandemic has also cut traffic volumes on many streets while spurring some drivers to speed on empty roads, noted Soldo.

“It’s fair to assume next year’s (collision report) could look very different.”