Road Safety & Vision Zero Plan

[salsa]

In light of the many recent pedestrian and cycling deaths in Toronto, this is a dedicated thread to discuss this issue and the measures that will/should be taken to fix the problem.

The city has posted their pedestrian safely plans for 2017 which include lowering speed limits, red light cameras, intersection geometry improvements, and "senior safety zones". It was announced at a press conference this morning.

Details here: http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/c...nnel=84a7e03bb8d1e310VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

 

[ADRM]

Underwhelming but not nothing.

 

[Palma]

In light of the many recent pedestrian and cycling deaths in Toronto, this is a dedicated thread to discuss this issue and the measures that will/should be taken to fix the problem.

The city has posted their pedestrian safely plans for 2017 which include lowering speed limits, red light cameras, intersection geometry improvements, and "senior safety zones". It was announced at a press conference this morning.

Details here: http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/c...nnel=84a7e03bb8d1e310VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

I went through the list and am wondering how they arrived at which streets to reduce speed limits on. I certainly will be calling my councillors office Mon to nominate another street i would like put on there. It seems most of the streets are downtown or in the east end other than Rogers Road. I for one would like to see keele St going south from the 401 on the list. The speed limi is 60, at some point goes down to 50 south of Lawrence then 40 right before a school north of Eglinton. Keele St going south is a steep elevation and those cars fly down. i doubt many reduce from 60 to 50 nevermind 40 within a span of mere minutes. If you can reduce on University Ave from 50 to 40 between Front and Gerrard then i don't see why Keele cannot be reduced to 50 south of the 401 and then down to 40kms at Lawrence due to the slope of Keele St. going downhill and then you also approach the bend north of Eglinton.

 

[Vaucluse]

The road signs and red light cameras won't have any effect. Many drivers don't respect the current speed limit so the speed reductions won't do anything either. The curb extensions, curb radius reductions and sidewalk widening will slow cars down, this will help. I'm not sure what is meant by intersection geometric safety improvements but if it slows cars down then it'll work as well. This is a small start but maybe this could be the beginning.
The big changes will occur when we start to think that roads are for the movement of people and not cars and then build our transportation system around that principle.

 

[Fred.S]

Here's a good video about how to implement vision zero through systematic safety.

 

[georgevicbell]

I would like a risk/rating system for intersections (maybe that could even be done in a crowd sourced way, and then an official one from the city)...there are a number of specific things that should be measured...

1) Road geometry is up to date to standards (ie approach lane widths, curve radiuses, appropriate separation, etc.)
2) Road signage/signals is appropriate, speed limit
3) Protection for vulnerable road users (ie. bollards, separation of bike lanes etc.)
4) Non-standard, or unexpected road design features (ie. 5+ road intersections, off ramps, high speed->low speed transitions, intersection includes driveway, off-angle intersections, one-way, do not enter, etc.)
5) Appropriate road markings (coloured bike lanes, different paving methods)
6) Visibility in bad conditions (rain, snow, darkness), lighting, distractions (signage, illuminated signage)
7) Official review done in the last X years
8) Injuries/deaths/crashes/reports/complaints
9) Traffic levels/pedestrian levels
10) Other risks - bus stops, schools, seniors, parks etc.
11) Street Mobility Limitations (wheelchair access, pedestrians can't cross 1/4+ ways)

There are a number of intersections in Toronto that I am often surprised don't get more attention - DVP/Castle Frank - with a school, an off-ramp, a subway, high speed traffic, lack of 4 way pedestrian crossing, bike lanes, weird geometry, high speed around corners, park, and multiple left/right, driveway and a bixi station and a few weird crossing/intersections/turn limitations....accidents happening all the time...and yet nothing is done.

All standard 4 or 3 way intersections should be comparable in some way to the others...and then all the other non-4 way intersections should be able to be compared in a reasonable way for risk.

For a big number of these you could probably automate it based on google maps and street view...road geometry and signage etc...but then have more details that could be added by the community or the city.

 

[salsa]

Residents and educators are sounding the alarm on traffic safety for Avenue Road, after several incidents in which speeding vehicles have hit pedestrians.

http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-s...for-traffic-safety-on-stretch-of-avenue-road/

 

[Northern Light]

Residents and educators are sounding the alarm on traffic safety for Avenue Road, after several incidents in which speeding vehicles have hit pedestrians.

http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-s...for-traffic-safety-on-stretch-of-avenue-road/

I would argue the portion of Avenue south of St. Clair is more dangerous (though statistics may betray me on that one, I don't know)

That section has absurdly narrow sidewalks and that in combination with the big hill and very high traffic volumes at times.

***

Perhaps a benefit for both sections could be found in narrowing the south-of-Oriole section to 2 lanes each way, and widening those sidewalks, in so far as it might also
serve to reduce feeder traffic coming from/going to the section further north.

***

Having examined the area in question on google street view; I would say the sidewalks are quite narrow here as well w/no boulevard separating pedestrians from traffic.

I'm not sure if volumes here would allow for stripping out 2 lanes; nor whether 'locals' would appreciate that; but it may be worth considering.

 

[ADRM]

South of St. Clair right down to Bloor is a disaster. It would seem like a pretty good candidate for the removal of two lanes of traffic in favour of the construction of protected cycle tracks (we badly need a N-S cycle connection for commuters), along with photo radar.

 

[Napalm Frog]

Yeah, I will occasionally take Avenue in chunks anywhere between Bloor and Lonsdale (so not this specific part of Avenue listed in the article) but it's just not cycling friendly. Fast speeds (especially northbound when a bike will be going slower due to uphill) and aggressive, impatient drivers. As a cyclist, I've been cut off countless times at Avenue & St Clair northbound by people taking the right turn lane who are not turning, using it to blast past the rest of the northbound traffic. However, I'm not sure how good of a candidate it would be for bike lanes. For those come from the west side of Avenue, Poplar Plains is a great alternative as it connect to Davenport, Dupont, and just a jog from St George, Huron, & Bedford allowing a cyclist to climb uphill without the high pressure traffic of Avenue. If anything, I'd love to see cycling lanes on Yonge as a N/S corridor, and maybe focus on Avenue more for pedestrians as a nice, grand, street.

 

[salsa]

South of St. Clair right down to Bloor is a disaster. It would seem like a pretty good candidate for the removal of two lanes of traffic in favour of the construction of protected cycle tracks (we badly need a N-S cycle connection for commuters), along with photo radar.

This guy's work is evident on Avenue Road.

 

[salsa]

The sidewalk jumped in front of the car!

 

[pman]

This guy's work is evident on Avenue Road.

View attachment 102400

View attachment 102401

That hydro pole directly in the middle of the sidewalk is so Toronto.

 

[salsa]

Someone decided it was a good idea to block a busy sidewalk with highway-sized signs, to inform motorists about construction.

At the same pedestrians already have the TTC elevator project to deal with. Overall not an easy place to be a pedestrian right now.

Photos by @ShonTron​

 

[junctionist]

The electronic sign blocking the sidewalk is silly and ridiculous. It's apparently not appropriate to block a lane of traffic with the sign, but it's OK to block a busy downtown sidewalk? No. This isn't some far-flung suburb where the sidewalks are empty all day. They could have just made an orange sign with the construction information and attached it to a utility pole.