Forty one is the number of serious injuries and fatalities to cyclists and pedestrians, which have accumulated over this year alone. Monday, July 4th, marked an extraordinarily dangerous day for Toronto’s vulnerable road users. In the span of less than 24 hours, there were 18 reported collisions involving 20 pedestrians and cyclists, according to police. Most of the victims escaped serious injury. But one, a 73-year-old man, was killed.
“It’s hard to ignore numbers like these,” said Kasia Briegmann-Samson, whose husband Tom Samson tragically died in 2012 after being hit by an oncoming vehicle. “It’s extremely sad if it takes 20 people being injured or killed in one day to make things happen,” she said. “Every single one of these deaths are preventable. Every single one.”
Since her late husband’s death, Samson has spoken out publicly for the need to lower speed limits, provide better and more divided bike lanes. Const. Clint Stibbe stated that the Toronto Police force typically sees approximately six pedestrian collisions a day, and it’s particularly unusual to see such high numbers in the early summer. It isn’t until later in the year, when darkness falls earlier, that numbers tend to spike. Thus far this year, 22 pedestrians and one cyclist have been killed on Toronto’s roads, according to police. Tragically, the city is on track to match the 40 pedestrian fatalities it posted in 2013, which was the highest single-year total in the past decade.
Councillor Jaye Robinson’s efforts to create the city’s new road safety plan has now swung into full action; she said the recent collisions are “a clear indication that we have to get the (road safety plan) into action now. Clearly, the status quo is not effective in reducing collisions and improving safety for vulnerable road users, most of which are pedestrians, cyclists and seniors.”
However, Robinson has received some back lash from other large organizations in favour of a broader safety plan. Robinson amended the plan to explicitly set a target of eliminating fatalities, but critics still say the strategy, which proposes safety measures at specific locations that statistically have a higher number of collisions, is too narrow in scope. Advocacy groups like Walk Toronto argue that measures like reduced speed limits should be applied citywide.