Green-light this plan
With 20 people shot to death by mid-June, many worry that Toronto is seeing another “year of the gun.” But the reality is that if it’s anything like last year, it will probably be the year of the car.
That’s right. More people are dying in traffic accidents in Toronto than as a result of murders of any kind — though you may not know it from the headlines. Last year there were 65 traffic-related fatalities, representing a 10-year high, compared with 56 homicides.
While public attention has been on murder and mayhem, it should have also been on something as mundane-sounding as road safety. Especially considering the average number of traffic fatalities has jumped dramatically in the past three years. After running at 44 a year from 2005 to 2012, it has averaged 60 a year since then.
It adds up to a problem that hasn’t received a lot of attention. But now, with the release of a road safety plan from the city’s transportation services department aimed at reducing fatal and serious injury collisions by 20 per cent over the next 10 years, the issue may finally get the focus it deserves. Indeed, some critics and city councillors are already pushing for a more ambitious effort to set a target of zero people killed or seriously injured within five years.
As it stands, the plan includes 40 safety measures for current accident hot spots under five key areas: pedestrians, cyclists, school zones, aggressive and distracted driving, and seniors. It will require $68 million over five years, or roughly $40 million more than is currently spent on road safety.
Despite the media’s focus on dramatic drunk-driving collisions between cars, the plan shows pedestrians are the road-user group most frequently killed or seriously injured. Pedestrian deaths are up sharply — to 39 last year from an average of about 20 a year in 2010-12. And among pedestrians, those most in danger are seniors. Indeed, so far this year, people over 55 accounted for 82 per cent of pedestrian fatalities.
Among the smartest recommendations that will be discussed next Monday at a public works committee meeting before being presented to council in July are:
Advanced green lights for pedestrians and cyclists to give them a head start at intersections. (It makes them more visible to drivers and reduces the possibility of left-turn collisions.)
Banning right turns on red lights at corners where these have been a contributing factor to deaths and serious injuries.
Creating five new midblock pedestrian crossings a year, so people don’t have to walk so far to cross safely at a light.
This report focuses on solving problems in 15 “pedestrian safety corridors” that are considered particularly dangerous. But council should not apply the recommendations in the report only to those areas. It should consider incorporating many of these safety features into ongoing road repairs and new residential areas. It’s just sound — and safe — planning.
With traffic fatalities rising dramatically, a new road safety plan should be approved