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Road Safety & Vision Zero Plan
- Thread starter salsa
- Start date
tiffer24
Senior Member
crs1026
Superstar
Virtual public meeting announcement for December 7th.
toronto.ca/TheQueensway
- Paul
toronto.ca/TheQueensway
- Paul
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Nothing about including a provision for a streetcar or light rail right-of-way, that could reach Sherway Gardens.
jodi
New Member
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
Hi everyone. I am the author of this petition: https://www.change.org/dwighttrees
Reviving this old thread, because unfortunately the Infrastructure and Environment Committee, in the absence of our local councillor Mark Grimes, voted last Thursday to adopt the staff recommendation to remove all of the Dwight Avenue trees, even though there were 29 letters sent and more than 1300 signatures on the petition. https://www.toronto.com/news-story/10531346-mature-mimico-trees-to-fall-for-new-sidewalk/
However, it's not yet the end of the line for these trees because the staff recommendation must still pass Toronto City Council on 15 December.
I really appreciated the thoughtful discussion on the possible options in this thread. If you have the opportunity to take a look at the petition and provide any feedback, it would be gladly received. Even a consulting arborist says that other options that include both sidewalk and trees are possible, so it's hard to understand why the city isn't seriously considering them.
crs1026
Superstar
^My advice from having worked on a similar initiative in your general area would be to analyse your e-petition results carefully and not oversell it. E-petitions are a very weak tool for a purely local issue.
The e-petition we launched on a similar topic collected a huge number of favourable responses, but when we analysed the postal code data it was clear that many signees were from afar. It was impossible to mount an argument that most had an actual interest in the matter and even more impossible to create much concern in the minds of City councillors that there were votes at stake. Some people have nothing better to do with their time than sign e-petitions, or so it seemed to us.
What worked better for us (and I realise you are down to the wire) is a paper petition collected from residents closest to the location, showing a strong preference from that group for one side of the issue. The larger share of Council do seem to believe in not overriding a strong local voice on a local matter, even on an issue they have a stand on generally.
I drive the area regularly and I’m on your side, sure seems the city could achieve its plan while leaving the trees in place. Hope it works out for you.
- Paul
The e-petition we launched on a similar topic collected a huge number of favourable responses, but when we analysed the postal code data it was clear that many signees were from afar. It was impossible to mount an argument that most had an actual interest in the matter and even more impossible to create much concern in the minds of City councillors that there were votes at stake. Some people have nothing better to do with their time than sign e-petitions, or so it seemed to us.
What worked better for us (and I realise you are down to the wire) is a paper petition collected from residents closest to the location, showing a strong preference from that group for one side of the issue. The larger share of Council do seem to believe in not overriding a strong local voice on a local matter, even on an issue they have a stand on generally.
I drive the area regularly and I’m on your side, sure seems the city could achieve its plan while leaving the trees in place. Hope it works out for you.
- Paul
tiffer24
Senior Member
TossYourJacket
Senior Member
And yet Council will continue to do nothing of any actual meaning, as if this is something we should just accept. They may however make some new Vision Zero ads, so they can pretend they care.
jodi
New Member
Thank you very much for the reply. What you said makes a lot of sense. I did an analysis of postcodes from petition supporters and there are over 500 signatures just from our ward (Ward 3). Another 400 are from the rest of Toronto, so should still be relevant to City Council. We have been mostly requesting signatures via local neighbourhood Facebook groups. I will make sure to submit this analysis together with the petition when it comes to council.
gabe
Senior Member
Not surprising, i see so many cars driving around with no lights even in the evening/night. At this time of year, visibility can be poor even during the day and daytime running lights are not enough.
Worst invention ever was automatic lights on the dash when the key was turned on. Fools people into thinking their headlights are on.
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
As a driver myself, I’ll say that even I’ve come to prefer driving on single-laned roads. Multi-lane roads are inherently chaotic. They encourage drivers to serve and weave around each other to save seconds off their trip. Even in my car, driving down Parkside doesn’t exactly feel *safe*.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
The lane reductions that have already been installed across the city have absolutely made my driving experience less chaotic (safer!) and more pleasant. Bloor Street is a great example of this. And despite what the naysayers have predicted, I can’t say that the Bloor lane reductions have made my drive perceptibly slower. I only wish that more of the restricted areas on the roadway had physical infrastructure to further calm the madness.
Single lane roads (with allowances for turning lanes) really oughta be the default, unless traffic is absolutely snarled without additional lanes.
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tiffer24
Senior Member
As a Tesla driver, you can now play video games while the car is in motion.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021...es-can-now-be-played-while-the-car-is-moving/
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021...es-can-now-be-played-while-the-car-is-moving/
Towered
Superstar
I can't wait to be able to chill in the back seat of a fully autonomous vehicle with a book or tablet (or a nap!) and say: "Alright Jeeves, take me to the AGO - and make it snappy!"
W. K. Lis
Superstar
In theory, a fully autonomous vehicle would not "make it snappy". It would follow the "letter of the law" exactly, in therory.
Unless you are a programmer and can over-ride the programming to make it "snappy". I'll take sealed bids in a year.
daniel_kryz
Active Member
Hi guys? Can anyone please explain to me the difference between Vision Zero and Complete Streets Guidelines? I understand that Vision Zero is about eliminating fatalities and that Complete Streets is about moving away from 20th century street design, but I don't understand how the two sets of guidelines shape the city's projects. Sometimes a project is guided by Vision Zero, sometimes by Complete Streets - so it's kinda confusing.