Road Safety & Vision Zero Plan

[nfitz]

Likely used for a "kiss-n-ride" and taxi stand.

Put it on Christie. Heck, widen it a bit if necessary - plenty of space there - especially with the closure of the existing lane.

Would make walking out of Christie station easier too - lots of pedestrians on the relatively narrow sidewalk to Bloor.

 

[W. K. Lis]

The island separates the 3 southbound lanes (right turn lane, straight to Grace Street, and left turn lane) from the 2 northbound lanes, in front of Christie Station.

From link.

The problem is that the two northbound lanes are (alledged) level with the rest of the surrounding roadways.

 

[Northern Light]

Soooo, our own @AlexBozikovic has a thread going over on Twitter, which I will link below, in which he expresses some exasperation with the City's Road Design guidelines (on that he is not wrong); in this case
in relation to a project to install one long block of new sidewalk, in front of a school, on Dwight Avenue in Etobicoke.

Twitter thread here:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1442140214336557061

From said thread:

View attachment 351677

This is the stretch of road in question:

View attachment 351679

The proposal is to remove this row of trees in order to add a sidewalk (a new of trees will be planted)

****

Alex posted this slide from the City Presentation, which I will also link below:

View attachment 351680

The full presentation can be found here:

https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/9739-DwightAve-PublicConsultationSlides-FINAL-002.pdf

**********

So, my thoughts:

1) The road design guideline, with a 5.6M drive lane here is nuts, I'm all for revising that guideline.

2) What Alex does not mention in his thread (that I noticed) was that the road is not being resurfaced or reconstructed, the sidewalk is a stand-alone project. As such, in the City's terms, the design guideline isn't all that relevant, in that they have no desire to open up the road to build the sidewalk. Its not a small matter, as the existing curbs and gutters (sewer grates) would need to be relocated as well, the necessitates open up the road and the road base, its a much more expensive project. I'm not arguing against that, per se.........but its important to consider that even if the road design were narrowed, the project would be vastly more expensive and not within the approved budget.

3) Now, that said, there are other things at play here............but let's consider the idea mentioned that the City is sparing the School Parking lot, by not placing the sidewalk to the inside of the trees. In fairness to Alex, this is the way the City addresses the idea of the sidewalk in that location in its presentation. But, that really isn't true.

This is an aerial view of the school/sidewalk site, I have highlighted the parking lot:

View attachment 351685

As you can see, its a very small portion of the area in question. If, for argument's sake, you didn't want to impinge on the parking lot (not that I have an issue w/this), its important to note that you would only remove two trees if you ran the sidewalk where the City proposed (instead of the whole row), while adjacent to the parking lot, before shifting it to the inside of the tree row (west) along the edge of the school field.

The City is frankly being misleading in suggesting that the parking lot is a material issue. Were they arguing about impinging on the playable area of the field that may/may not be fair.......but the parking lot is not that big a deal. It is important to note, however, that for the new sidewalk to be far enough to the west not to seriously damage the existing trees, it would have to be well into TDSB property. Its not clear to me from the City presentation if the TDSB was asked about this possibility or open to it.

***

Now lets make it more complicated still; several of the established trees are European Ash; are susceptible to the Emerald Ash Borer. Those trees are unlikely to survive beyond the next 10 years, irrespective of the sidewalk.

The largest number of the remaining trees are Norway Maple, a non-native, invasive tree. Though, to complicate things further, I wouldn't really champion removing the Norways here, if they are in good health; because the nearest sensitive environmental area is more than 1.4km away (Col. Sam Smith Park) the prevailing winds (for blowing seed) run the opposite direction.

***

But before anyone thinks I'm letting the City off the hook.................(which I'm not)...........this is just glaringly bad..........

The City has proposed 17 replacement trees; after going on about how the Norways and (European Ash) aren't native...........

Only 5/17 replacement trees are proposed to be native............. SMH (from the presentation linked above)

View attachment 351686

PS, Horse Chestnut is invasive........

*****

In the end, I share Alex's frustration at the guidelines, wouldn't mind sparing some of the trees in question, and would support narrowing the road; though I understand why the City doesn't want to put that on the table just at the moment.
But the fact that the City is less than clear on its reasoning.....(and we could talk about the fence related excuse separately, but I didn't want to drag out the post).....
On top of which they propose mostly non-native trees as replacements...............

Eeesh this City can be frustrating at times.

Well now.............look what happened here:

Led by Councillor Grimes, the City has paused this project and directed Transportation to look into narrowing the road; and saving the trees.

Toronto council halts Dwight Avenue tree removal

Toronto City Council has voted to halt the city's removal of 12 trees on Dwight Avenue to install a proposed sidewalk.

www.toronto.com

In the event City staff come back firm against the narrowing, the Councillor wants 19 additional trees planted as compensation

 

[W. K. Lis]

Well now.............look what happened here:

Led by Councillor Grimes, the City has paused this project and directed Transportation to look into narrowing the road; and saving the trees.

Toronto council halts Dwight Avenue tree removal

Toronto City Council has voted to halt the city's removal of 12 trees on Dwight Avenue to install a proposed sidewalk.

www.toronto.com

In the event City staff come back firm against the narrowing, the Councillor wants 19 additional trees planted as compensation

From Councillor Grimes? Was he visited by the Ghost of Etobicoke-Lakeshore to come?

 

[Hieberrr]

Yeah, that Christie/Bloor intersection sucks.

I have to drive there occasionally to get home and I practically take that turn on to Christie at a snail's pace.

What drivers don't do is (1) watch for cyclists prior to the turn, (2) shoulder check, and (3) slow down or stop before taking the turn.

It's a chaotic intersection with loads of pedestrians and cyclists.

I do wonder what the solution is though. Lights?

 

[TossYourJacket]

Sadly, another pedestrian has been killed by a driver on Don Mills Rd. How many people are going to die on that road before council does literally anything to solve the problem?

 

[W. K. Lis]

Notice in the above map, that Parkside Drive did not exist in mid-19th century. Originally, it was an two-lane southern extension of Keele Street, joining Indian Road as a fork in the road in the south end. Then the developers had widened the south end of Keele Street and renamed it Parkside Drive, as a "scenic" drive. Today, it has become a want-to-be-expressway. This week, tragedy.

'No one ever expected this would happen': Toronto couple killed in crash near High Park mourned​

From link.

A well-known couple from Toronto’s Portuguese community was killed earlier this week in a multi-vehicle crash near High Park.

Valdemar Avila, 71, and his 69-year-old wife, Fatima, died on Tuesday, Oct. 12 after their car was hit from behind by a driver reportedly speeding on Parkside Drive, near Spring Road.

The chain-reaction collision involved five vehicles and injured four others, one of whom was seriously hurt.

The morning after the deadly crash, the couple’s daughter, Ashley Avila, and her husband, Sokratis Mintsopoulos, drove down from their home in Trent Lakes to visit the scene where her parents were killed. They laid bouquets of flowers and placed candles next to a nearby utility pole.

Ashley also spoke with a few neighbours who witnessed the incident and tried to help her mom and dad.

“My biggest concern was that (my parents) didn’t die alone. It was important for me to know they were cared for (in their final moments),” she told toronto.com Thursday afternoon.

“We’re very thankful to everyone in the community that helped them.”

The Avilas, who came to Canada from Portugal’s Azores region in 1971, were long-time residents of Dundas Street West’s Little Portugal area.

Fatima owned her own beauty shop, Salao Leal, on the strip for 30 years. She retired and closed the salon two years ago, just before the start of the pandemic.

Valdemar was a local roofer who was always ready to lend a hand to anyone in need of help. He was affectionately known for making a large batch of homemade wine every fall, which he’d share with friends and neighbours.

Married for 48 years, the couple also had a son named Laurenio and two grandsons: Easton, four, and two-year-old Weston.

The grandkids were their “pride and joy” said Ashley, who has yet to break the devastating news to her boys. The family was set to get together this weekend to celebrate little Weston’s third birthday.

“This is not how things are supposed to be,” she said.

Ashley said her parents will be forever remembered as a loving couple. She said they enjoyed taking a long walk together every day.

“(My parents) spent a lot of time together,” she said, adding getting some physical activity was one of the many ways her father took care of her mother, who had early onset Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

At the time of the crash, the couple was heading to Costco in Etobicoke to fill a prescription for Fatima.

“No one ever expected this would happen … I can’t even believe it,” said Ashley, who is staying at her parents’ home for the next several days.

“Every time I walk into their house, I’m waiting for my dad to say something.”

Local Coun. Ana Bailão offered a few words of sympathy.

"I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of two residents of our Little Portugal community,” the Davenport rep said in a statement.

“It is particularly tragic that their passing is the result of a motor vehicle accident where indications are that the other vehicle was operating at a high speed when it collided with this couple's car. Their loss will be felt within our community for a long time, and we convey to their friends and family our deepest and sincerest condolences."

A visitation for Valdemar and Fatima Avila will be held Tuesday, Oct. 19, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Kane-Jerrett Funeral Homes, 6191 Yonge St.

A funeral service for the couple is set for the following day, Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 10 a.m., at St. Helen's Parish, 1680 Dundas St. W.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy for the couple can be posted online.

 

[W. K. Lis]

It’s Time for a Safer Parkside​

From link.

Since the Toronto Community Bikeways Coalition was formed last May, one of their primary asks has been to put in a bikeway along Weston Road and Keele Street from Cardell Avenue to Bloor Street. However, Keele continues onto Parkside Drive from Bloor to Lake Shore Boulevard which is a fast moving arterial and unpleaseant for those who walk or bike. Earlier this month, the Sunnyside Community Association held a Zoom meeting in which many of the more than 40 people in attendance were supportive of safety improvements on Parkside including bike lanes. A separate Facebook group called “Safe Parkside” was also organized around this issue.

In its current form, Parkside Drive is a 12.8 metre wide major arterial with four traffic lanes and a 50 km/h speed limit. However, observed speeds are much faster with 70 km/h not being uncommon and the road serves as a key access point for Lake Shore and the Gardiner Expressway. The east curb lane (northbound) is used for parking, but is not allowed from 4:00 to 6:00 PM from Monday to Friday. A sidewalk is available only on the east side which – at 1.5 metres wide – is too narrow for two people to comfortably pass each other; something even more problematic with COVID-19.

Existing layout of Parkside Drive

From a cycling standpoint, there are two problematic intersections. A multi-use trail immediately north of The Queensway crosses Parkside but does not have a pedestrian crossover. People walking or biking who wish not to jaywalk have to go 110 metres north to the traffic signal at Spring Road and come back down before continuing. To avoid having people bike on the sidewalk, a pedestrian crossover is urgently needed. If one can be put in at Roncesvalles and Westminster Avenues – only 100 metres north of the traffic signal at High Park Boulevard – there is no excuse not to put one in.

The other intersection lies at Lake Shore and Parkside. The pedestrian signal for crossing the eastbound lanes of Lake Shore takes forever to change and many people – myself included – cross it illegally to get to and from the Martin Goodman Trail. The four slip lanes and complex signalling also encourage unnecessarily fast motor vehicle traffic and excessive land use. I would recommend two actions here. The slip lanes need to be replaced with a T intersection in the short term, while a longer term solution would involve moving the eastbound Lake Shore lanes north so they are adjacent to the westbound ones. The parking lot for Palais Royale and Sunnyside Beach would need to be realigned as well which would help expand available park land, while the ramp from the Roncesvalles pedestrian bridge to the Palais Royale parking lot would need to be removed for this to work.

A reimagining of Lake Shore at Parkside including the realignment of the intersection and eastbound lanes (in brown) to allow for expanded park land

Per a post from Tyrenny Anderson – one of the group admins – there are three requests the group has put together.

1. Allow cars to remain parked between 4:00 and 6:00 PM to create a protective physical barrier between cars and pedestrians.
2. Enforce the speed limit and honour the community safety zone designation for all cars traveling on Parkside Drive.
3. Review the design of Parkside Drive to ensure it meets safety requirements. Commit to upgrades that will make the street safer and better to use for pedestrians and cyclists.

Given there are limited crossings on the west side of Parkside, the ideal solution would be to replace the southbound curb lane with a multi-use trail, while the eastbound curb lane would be converted and narrowed into a 24-hour parking zone with the extra width used to widen the sidewalk. Two traffic lanes would be maintained while the speed limit should be reduced to 40 km/h as has been done on other major arterials within Toronto – East York.

A proposed layout for Parkside including a multi-use trail and a wider sidewalk

The fact many residents in Sunnyside and Roncesvalles support a safer Parkside provides justification to include Parkside as part of a bikeway along Keele and Weston for an eleven kilometre continuous north-south route from the Waterfront to just before Highway 401. Having biked by Weston on Saturday to get my COVID-19 vaccine – which I encourage you to do as soon as possible if you haven’t yet – I can confirm the need for a bikeway there to give Weston and Mount Dennis residents safe transportation options. Especially with those neighbourhoods having higher than average COVID-19 cases and the 41 Keele and 35 Jane bus routes being among the busiest during the pandemic.

 

[TRONto]

It’s Time for a Safer Parkside​

From link.

Existing layout of Parkside Drive

A reimagining of Lake Shore at Parkside including the realignment of the intersection and eastbound lanes (in brown) to allow for expanded park land

A proposed layout for Parkside including a multi-use trail and a wider sidewalk

I didn't see anything about a response from the local councillor. Do you know if this proposal has been brought to the attention of anyone at the city?

 

[Northern Light]

It’s Time for a Safer Parkside​

From link.

Existing layout of Parkside Drive

A reimagining of Lake Shore at Parkside including the realignment of the intersection and eastbound lanes (in brown) to allow for expanded park land

A proposed layout for Parkside including a multi-use trail and a wider sidewalk

Great proposal.

I've long advocated for a sidewalk on the west side of the road, abutting High Park, but a multi-use trail is a fine alternative.

I think the most uncomfortable spot, where a sidewalk exists is the underpasses Queensway/ the Railway Corridor/ and the Gardiner. Narrowing the road to one lane each way would be incredibly helpful in those spots especially.

My only quibble would be that I'd rather see a tree-lined boulevard instead of parking. But I don't imagine the residents would support that, so that's another battle for another time.

Parkside, before/during the widening of the road in the mid 1930s

 

[W. K. Lis]

Great proposal.

I've long advocated for a sidewalk on the west side of the road, abutting High Park, but a multi-use trail is a fine alternative.

I think the most uncomfortable spot, where a sidewalk exists is the underpasses Queensway/ the Railway Corridor/ and the Gardiner. Narrowing the road to one lane each way would be incredibly helpful in those spots especially.

My only quibble would be that I'd rather see a tree-lined boulevard instead of parking. But I don't imagine the residents would support that, so that's another battle for another time.

Parkside, before/during the widening of the road in the mid 1930s

View attachment 355876

View attachment 355877

From link. Obviously, most of the real estate (up to two more traffic lanes) was taken from High Park itself.

 

[ADRM]

I wouldn’t hold my breath expecting any action from Perks here. He obviously feels embattled, hence releasing a statement in response to much of the above, but it was pretty much nothing more than defensive bullshit (which is more or less standard fare from Perks anytime his record on vulnerable road user safety is rightly called into question).

Just as there is no progressive coalition for housing affordability in this city, sadly there is also no progressive coalition for real, impactful road safety reforms — just a bunch of mealy mouthed defences from sensitive so-called progressives and an undying deference to a harmfully status quo Transportation Staff.

 

[Northern Light]

I wouldn’t hold my breath expecting any action from Perks here. He obviously feels embattled, hence releasing a statement in response to much of the above, but it was pretty much nothing more than defensive bullshit (which is more or less standard fare from Perks anytime his record on vulnerable road user safety is rightly called into question).

Just as there is no progressive coalition for housing affordability in this city, sadly there is also no progressive coalition for real, impactful road safety reforms — just a bunch of mealy mouthed defences from sensitive so-called progressives and an undying deference to a harmfully status quo Transportation Staff.

I certainly feel that way some days.

But on other days, I think ...

However, slowly, we have approvals in place to narrow John Street and mostly pedestrianize it; to narrow Yonge Street both downtown and in North York.
We narrowed St. George Street years ago and made it one of the nicer strolls in town.
U of T is busy re-making their landscape as more pedestrian centric with no surface parking (shame they wasted money on the underground bit though)
The easternmost bit of the Gardiner is no more.
Queen's Quay west of Bay Street is largely an attractive streetscape having seen a 50% reduction in car lanes, its an imperfect design, but a very good effort, and that too will be coming to Queen's Quay East.
Bay Street is set to be narrowed south of the railway corridor.
University Avenue lost 2 lanes for Cycle Tracks; as have Shuter, Bloor, Danforth, Wellesley and a host more in recent years.
Channelized right hand turns have been removed in multiple locations; Eglinton, where it was six lanes, is largely dropping to 4, east of the DVP.

There is absolutely no question that pedestrian safety and comfort and cycling safety and comfort have not been the priorities they should be over the years. Some decisions are baffling and others damning.
But there is progress being made. We must hold the faith that more can be made, more quickly in the years ahead.

In due course, the dinosaurs can and will be removed, from Council and Staff; and that can't happen soon enough; but its already happening, so let's just give it a push.

 

[Undead]

Happens to the best of us

 

[lenaitch]

Happens to the best of us

No frontal damage so probably parked over the bollards when somebody pushed the 'up' button.