Toronto rolls out Vision Zero Road Safety Plan for 2017
January 10, 2017
By
CCE
City of Toronto launches Vision Zero Road Safety Plan, part of the city’s $54 million in funding overall traffic safety measures this year.
Toronto Mayor John Tory and Councillor Jaye Robinson, Chair of the city’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee, have outlined 45 new measures that will be introduced in 2017 targeted at eliminating fatalities and reducing serious injuries with an emphasis on pedestrians, school children, older adults, cyclists, aggressive and distracted driving, and motorcyclists. The measures are part of the city’s $54 million in funding the Vision Zero Road Safety Plan and overall traffic safety measures this year.
“The number of pedestrians and cyclists injured and killed by vehicles in our city last year is both alarming and unacceptable. We must do more to prevent these deaths and protect our residents across the city,” said Mayor Tory in a release announcing the plan.
There were 77 fatalities in Toronto, including 43 pedestrian deaths, in 2016, up from 38 pedestrian fatalities in 2015.
Among the initiatives the city is introducing immediately include:
• creation of Seniors Safety Zones to be implemented at 12 high-priority locations, with increased pedestrian walk-times, enhanced signage and enhanced pavement markings
• implementation of red light cameras at 76 new locations
• accessible pedestrian signal installations at 20 additional locations
• geometric safety engineering improvements at 13 locations
• road safety audits at 14 high-risk collision locations
• expansion of the school Watch Your Speed Program at 20 additional locations
• speed reductions along 32 additional corridors
• expansion of the mobile Watch Your Speed Program – including 12 additional pole-mounted speed display units in the city’s central core, and
• implementation of increased pedestrian walk times at 50 additional signalized intersections.
More information about the specific measures, including where and what geometric safety engineering improvements are being made, is online, and the City has also created a website that provides information about the Vision Zero Road Safety Plan, a mapping tool showing safety measures in place and future planned work.
The City has also introduced a new graphic identifier which highlights the City’s support for the principles of Vision Zero, an international road-traffic safety initiative that aims to achieve a road network with no fatalities or serious injuries.
