Following the deeply dispiriting death of seven-year-old Georgia Walsh many thoughtful people have talked again about the importance of making eye contact between motorist and pedestrian. It’s very speculative in the Leaside case because we have no official version of what happened at the corner of Millwood Rd. and McRae Drive Wednesday afternoon. But we do know that somehow little Georgia got out in front of a minivan that was turning west. She was crossing from north to south so it is easy to see how eye-contact, if there was any attempt to accomplish it, was difficult. The vehicle was approaching Georgia from behind. Whatever happened, experienced drivers will know that eye contact with pedestrians can be an effective way to ensure safety and timely manoeuvring at a corner or elsewhere. When old friends are saying goodbye on the sidewalk inches from the roadway where a driver it trying to turn right, they aren’t looking at his car. A savvy driver with a responsive well-adjusted  horn is often able to catch the attention of a person on foot before he or she toddles backwards out into the road. But most cars are built with horns that send one signal — a super loud blast suited to stopping a train. Where is the pedestrian horn, the signal that sends a polite “excuse me” to distracted adults and kids at close quarters? It is a question for traffic safety and automobile manufacturers. Police talk about making eye contact and wearing bright clothes. But it takes two to make eye contact.  

Hundred of moms, dads and their kids attended a vigil for Georgia Walsh today (Thursday, July 17, 2014) at the corner of Millwood Rd and McRae Drive. This is the intersection at which Georgia was fatally injured 24 hours earlier when she was hit by a minivan as it turned right onto Millwood off McRae. The gathering was both large and orderly. Parents talked quietly among themselves and also to news people, who flooded the corner with their numbers and five satellite antennae trucks (inset). Parents could be heard explaining to reporters about the amount of activity in the the area — Trace Manes Park, the tennis courts, Leaside Library and Leaside United Church. One mother (inset) was holding her little ones extra tightly as she knelt with tear-filled eyes at the memorial of flowers piled against the LUC hedge just about at the point where Georgia last tried to cross the road. Earlier in the day children, classmates and neighbours sat cross-legged in front of flowers. There is much talk of increased traffic in the area for many reasons, mostly the LRT disruptions on Eglinton Ave. E. “This community has become a traffic nightmare because of all the commercial development that’s going on and it’s only going to get worse,” area resident Patrick Rocca told CityNews. Read the Walsh family’s statement here and the account of the accident here