Mayor Tory and other City officials rolled out a multi-pronged program to try to eliminate pedestrian traffic deaths in Toronto Tuesday. The program is called the Vision Zero Safety Road Plan. It is a multinational concept which ratchets up physical changes to the streets and combines them with intense instructional advocacy. It also promises more moving-violation fines for drivers who try to skip through red lights. Vision Zero Safety comes with a video too (below). It cites six “emphasis areas”. These are pedestrians, school children, older adults, cyclists, motorcyclists and aggressive driving and distraction. There’s no mention of joggers or ordinary safe drivers as players in this road safety program.
SENIOR SAFETY ZONES
Among the more practical ideas are so-called Senior Safety Zones. The City has chosen 12 intersections (below) at which among other things the times allowed for crossing on a green light will be lengthened to permit the elderly a better chance for crossing. In total, times will be lengthened at 50 intersections. It is an eminently sensible idea and many will wonder why all crossing times cannot be lengthened. Seniors are everywhere and at places like Bayview Ave. and Manor Rd they get all of 15 seconds to cross on a Walk signal. The Vision Zero program also calls for more red light cameras and lowering speed limits. These are more or less okay as safety measures but they cannot improve upon physical conditions which protect older people as they cross. This isn’t an easy job to be sure but it isn’t a coincident that many of the seniors zone are on high-speed four and six lane thoroughfares where it is perilous to cross, especially at night. The locations of the seniors safety zones are as follows:
- Dundas Street and Bloor Street
- Bathurst Street and Steeles Avenue
- Victoria Park Avenue and O’Connor Drive
- McCowan Road and Lawrence Avenue
- Brimley Road and Lawrence Avenue
- Morningside Avenue and Lawrence Avenue
- Eglinton Avenue and Midland Road
- Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street
- Dundas Street and College Street
- Kennedy Road and Sheppard Avenue
- Danforth Road and Main Street
- Danforth Road and Coxwell Avenue
This is a good start to the streets that have been named.
I also feel that the light at Bloor & Dufferin should be longer. There are sr people that live at the New Horizons Tower at Dovercourt Baptist church and the light changes so quickly. They go to the banks, pharmacy,medical centre, library, groceries, variety stores, Tim’s, etc. and Dufferin Mall. There have been many times that I’ve been in the area and have helped a sr cross with their walker when the light had changed in the middle of their crossing time. I was petrified myself, I can imagine how they felt. Traffic ready to go and they were just halfway across.
Buses, traffic, subway station….just too much action in this area. Several times people have been on their cell phones. I myself have nearly been hit 3 times crossing at my light in the area (Bloor & Dufferin). If it can be helped, I cross at a different area myself.
Thank you.
Stefania (Stef) Kohut