How many more people must die?
When will we prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over the cars that kill them?
It getting more and more dangerous to be a pedestrian in Hamilton. Here we are, almost half way through 2022 and we’ve already beat previous annual pedestrian fatality numbers with months to go.
When are city councillors going to take traffic safety seriously and prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over the cars that kill them? Ten deaths. How much more evidence do some councillors need before they act?
I live close to the most dangerous pedestrian crosswalk in the city, King and Dundurn. I use it every day. And every time I approach it, I do so with extreme caution, knowing there is a strong likelihood someone will try to run the red, or be blinded by the setting sun, or distracted by the flashing media sign on the corner, or in too much hurry to watch where they’re going. Five lanes of traffic, all heading west, with two lanes, one on each side exiting onto ramps to Highway 403. These drivers aren’t paying attention to the road. They’re focused on the light and whether they can make it before it turns red. Thank you to the decisionmakers who put in the red light camera. Some call it a “cash grab,” I call it “pay attention to your driving and you won’t get caught.” They need to be at every intersection. Then there’s no confusion about what’s supposed to happen when the light turns amber.
This current city council has enabled bad driving in Hamilton for years by not implementing every tool it can to make Hamilton streets and sidewalks safe for everyone. By making excuses as to why their constituents are inconvenienced by speed bumps, lower speed limits, more traffic calming, and bike lanes, they telegraph the message that they don’t care about the communities their constituents travel through. Just get out of their way, is what they seem to say. Or move to a less busy street if you don’t like the traffic. What do you do with that kind of response? Hopefully it gets voted out in October.
Recent letters to the editor criticized fellow columnist Lorraine Sommerfeld’s assertion that it’s up to the car driver to be the one in control and making eye contract with pedestrians all the time. They are wrong. Their protestation that it’s a shared responsibility discounts the fact that drivers are the ones with the weapon that kills. The onus is on drivers to be in full control of their car and aware of their surroundings while operating it. All. The. Time. Just like gun owners.
Main and King, the two five-lane highways that course through Hamilton, are a curse on the city. Having the lights synced may seem like a good idea, until it becomes a game people play, speeding up, slowing down, changing lanes, just so they don’t have to stop at a light.
There are ways to make our streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Poke me about it in a conversation and I might not stop. All that’s lacking is the political will to insist on better road design that incorporates the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and people with mobility devices.
It’s clear by walking around the city that pedestrians are not considered much at all in the design of streets and intersections. Are they even asked? I’ll bet that most people who design streets drive cars. It’s clear no one asked about, or if they did, heard, the many problems with the King/Dundurn/Main intersections that pedestrians face.
The Hamilton Cycling Committee advises city council on all matters related to bicycling. From the way bike lanes have been coming together, it would appear it is successful in pushing its mandate. I went to look on which committee the walkability champion sits, someone pushing for pedestrians, and found there isn’t one. Maybe its time has come?