Toronto’s former chief urban planner Jennifer Keesmaat is calling for a state of emergency in the wake of a string of cyclist and pedestrian deaths in Toronto.
On Tuesday afternoon, a 58-year-old woman on her bike died after colliding with a flatbed truck near Bloor and St. George. Toronto Police announced the same day the death of another cyclist, age 36, succumbed to his injuries from collision on with a car at Colborne Lodge Dr. and Lake Shore that took place May 15th.
At Bloor St W and St George St for cyclist struck fatality. Roads will be closed for svrl hours for collision reconstruction, witnesses pls call 416-808-1900. pic.twitter.com/XCgOJarOzq
— TPS Traffic Operations (@TrafficServices) June 12, 2018
Tuesday’s tragedies bring the official pedestrian and cyclist toll up to 93, exactly one day before the two-year mark of Mayor John Tory’s Vision Zero announcement. The project aimed to have zero pedestrian deaths by the year 2021.
Keesmaat took to Twitter Tuesday to share her grief over the latest death. “It’s time to declare a State of Emergency, and immediately begin with the basics,” Keesmaat wrote. “First step is to lower speed limits and enforce them. The game playing – pretending we don’t know what to do – must stop.”
Tragedy on Toronto's streets, again. It's too much to take. It's unbearable. It's time to declare a State of Emergency, and immediately begin with the basics. First step is to lower speed limits and enforce them. The game playing – pretending we don't know what to do – must stop.
— jennifer keesmaat (@jen_keesmaat) June 13, 2018
Citizens have added their voice into the discussion, outraged that little has been done to educate Torontonians about cyclist and safe driving practises.
Toronto’s version of the “thoughts and prayers” that accompany every US school shooting.
This, from the Mayor who appointed the councillors most vociferously opposed to protecting cyclists to the committee in charge of protecting cyclists. https://t.co/rFEcRBLdjX
— Alex Mather (@AlexDRMather) June 12, 2018
Unfortunately, some people don’t see the whole picture. Mere hours before the announcement of both deaths Tuesday, Toronto Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti enraged cyclists when he said that they don’t belong on roads at all.
Mammoliti says bike lanes in the suburbs will lead to more cyclists getting hit. “Today, there was one crazy, LOONEY cyclist, that was going in and out of the cars —“
Coun. McMahon cuts him off, calls his comments offensive.
— Matt Elliott (@GraphicMatt) June 12, 2018
Mammoliti, who never did apologize or withdraw his “looney” comment about the cyclist, goes on and on about how hard it is to be a car driver in this city. The election is October 22.
— Matt Elliott (@GraphicMatt) June 12, 2018
What many fail to see is that biking is their only form of transportation other than taking the TTC. Having more cyclists on the streets means less traffic, less pollution, and not to mention a more active community. Keesmaat says we have much to do if we are to compare ourselves to bike-friendly cities like Oslo, Amsterdam or Copenhagen. Even our neighbours to the north-east in Montreal have more secure bike system in place.
Everyone needs to slow down. Reducing speed matters most. We need to recalibrate our expectations – we are a dense urban city, waking, transit and cycling should be prioritized. #Oslo has made streets with this much activity pedestrian priority. https://t.co/3VRv7FYAnj
— jennifer keesmaat (@jen_keesmaat) June 13, 2018
There is currently a die-in planned for City Hall this Friday to protest the upticks in cyclist deaths.
Image courtesy TPS TrafficServices