Toronto Eglinton Line 5 | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | Arcadis

[Steve X]

Assuming the LRV didn't move much afterwards, based on the image from CP24 and from using Google Street View the collision seems to have happened at the eastern edge of the intersection of Eglington Square and Eglington Avenue
View attachment 672308View attachment 672309

This intersection currently has pedestrian crossings at all edges except for the eastern one
(Had to use Google Earth because Google Maps is very out of date)
View attachment 672310

Obviously we need to wait for more details to confirm but it seems possible to me that they were crossing along this edge when they were hit
The solution to me would then be to add a pedestrian crossing to this side of the intersection
I also feel in general it is silly to leave one side of an intersection without a crossing though

Thanks for the imagery. See there is no place to stand between the roadway and the tracks. The grass and concrete mixed ROW does add confusion.

There are fencing along some parts of the ROW where elevation differs between the tracks and roadway. They should extend that to the entire golden miles stretch where jaywalking is common.

The 30 km/h limit has been imposed on Queens Quay and parts of Spadina near Chinatown where jaywalking is common. As far as we all hate it, the TTC seems to love doing this. Hence why I mention it.

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

but it seems possible to me that they were crossing along this edge when they were hit
The solution to me would then be to add a pedestrian crossing to this side of the intersection
I also feel in general it is silly to leave one side of an intersection without a crossing though

On the CP24 coverage of the incident, they mentioned that in the time the police were there, several pedestrians appeared to be crossing across the tracks and the police had to tell them not to go near the LRV or on the tracks.

 

[Admiral Beez]

We have designed an LRT as if there is no need for pedestrians to cross it safely.

Just wait until there are thousands of residents living on either side wanting or even being encouraged to walk across Eglinton.

..several pedestrians appeared to be jaywalking across the tracks and the police had to tell them not to go near the LRV or on the tracks.

The very term is akin to victim blaming. People will cross where they want to, and the road and LRV should be designed to reasonable accommodate those who want to cross the road. It’s not realistic to expect anyone to deviate more than a few minutes from their preferred straight A to B line.

 

[T3G]

There are fencing along some parts of the ROW where elevation differs between the tracks and roadway. They should extend that to the entire golden miles stretch where jaywalking is common.

I would much rather we discouraged jaywalking by designing the infrastructure correctly, i.e. with an appropriate amount of crosswalks, and safety zones to prevent people from blindly walking forward:



Or even what they do in Kitchener-Waterloo, where there are gates and audible warning signals that sound when a train approaches. Putting up a wall would just make an already pedestrian hostile landscape more unpleasant to traverse.

 

[Towered]

I’m starting to feel like somebody somewhere has a voodoo doll of this line…

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

I’m starting to feel like somebody somewhere has a voodoo doll of this line…

Well yeah, it sure is feeling quite cursed...

 

[txlseries4]

I find it hard to blame people from crossing midblock -- especially here where for several years it's been a safe place to cross because there weren't any trains running -- when the legal options are 5+ minutes out of the way. Detours with similar time delays are rare for drivers, but common place for pedestrians, and then people shake their heads about what the person was thinking.

 

[txlseries4]

I’m starting to feel like somebody somewhere has a voodoo doll of this line…

Doug Ford conspiring for the city to take the blame for the Crosstown LRT so he can intervene and finally become Mayor:

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

I find it hard to blame people from crossing midblock -- especially here where for several years it's been a safe place to cross because there weren't any trains running -- when the legal options are 5+ minutes out of the way. Detours with similar time delays are rare for drivers, but common place for pedestrians, and then people shake their heads about what the person was thinking.

You have a good point. This incident definitely will challenge people's inherent anti pedestrian bias...

 

[Undead]

It's true that we often apply the principles of vision zero incorrectly. For example, too often the City lowers speed limits without changing the physical design of a road.

However, it's neither the time nor place to litigate that in this thread after this tragedy.

 

[Steve X]

I would much rather we discouraged jaywalking by designing the infrastructure correctly, i.e. with an appropriate amount of crosswalks, and safety zones to prevent people from blindly walking forward:

View attachment 672323

Or even what they do in Kitchener-Waterloo, where there are gates and audible warning signals that sound when a train approaches. Putting up a wall would just make an already pedestrian hostile landscape more unpleasant to traverse.

I already feel like there’s too many lights in the area. I believe they should just elevate that part of the line between Victoria Park and Warden which would have save all the headaches.

This city, unlike Europe wants a traffic light for all crossings. They can’t simply install a crossing with a sign telling one to look. If there were to be crossings every 50m, there would be a traffic light every 50m to improve accessibility.

 

[Northern Light]

I believe they should just elevate that part of the line between Victoria Park and Warden which would have save all the headaches.

Can we open the line first before reconstructing it? LOL

For the record, I would have preferred it to be entirely grade separated........but that ship has sailed.

 

[ZEBuilder]

For those of you worried about slow zones being implemented it is very unlikely to happen. In KW there have been pedestrians hit, there have been cyclists hit, there have been countless close calls and there have been fatalities associated with the LRTs operation but that has not changed the operation of the LRT in any way.

There are additional safety measures being implemented in places where there is significant platform volumes (University of Waterloo) but beyond that there is nothing that has changed in relation to the built infrastructure even considering the locations where these kinds of incidents have occurred. In one instance a student from a high school walked across the tracks where they shouldn't and got hit. For a couple of days it was in the news and everyone was going on about how they should put barriers in, make it more safe etc. Nothing ended up happening with that because at the end of the day there are crossings close by, this case it is certainly similar.

Or even what they do in Kitchener-Waterloo, where there are gates and audible warning signals that sound when a train approaches. Putting up a wall would just make an already pedestrian hostile landscape more unpleasant to traverse.

When it comes to crossing arms and bells much of KWs route does not have them. The locations that do are in the train spurs but everywhere that it is street running there are no gates and looks just like Eglinton.

 

[T3G]

I already feel like there’s too many lights in the area. I believe they should just elevate that part of the line between Victoria Park and Warden which would have save all the headaches.

This city, unlike Europe wants a traffic light for all crossings. They can’t simply install a crossing with a sign telling one to look. If there were to be crossings every 50m, there would be a traffic light every 50m to improve accessibility.

Is that a new regulation? There's loads of crosswalks in the old city that don't have full traffic lines, just the yellow crossing signals.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

If there is a driveway or a side street, we should expect to have people in the vicinity.

Should be some sort of barrier to direct pedestrians away from crossing at driveways and side-streets.