Author: Walk Toronto

Walk Toronto has written to Toronto East York Community Council to support a pilot project to test wider sidewalks on Avenue Road. Walk Toronto is a member of the Avenue Road Safety Coalition (ARSC), which has been working to make this street safer for pedestrians through wider sidewalks and slower speeds. Councillors Layton and Matlow have introduced a motion at the Oct. 15 meeting of the TEYCC to push for such a pilot project.

The letter was written by Walk Toronto steering committee member Dylan Reid, who lived on Avenue Road for several years in the past. He also made a verbal deputation about the issue to TEYCC at its (online) meeting.

• Read Walk Toronto’s letter to TEYCC (PDF)
• See the TEYCC agenda item
• Watch the agenda item be discussed at TEYCC (YouTube), including deputations and speeches from Councillors Layton and Matlow
• Watch the ARSC video, which features Walk Toronto’s banner in support of wider sidewalks

Walk Toronto has written to City Council to ask it to reject a member motion that would block the construction of new sidewalks on streets in Etobicoke and North York. The letter was written by steering committee member Pamela Gough, a local resident and former TDSB school trustee.

The motion, brought directly to council, would circumvent the expected process whereby the request would be debated at the Infrastructure and Environment Committee, giving residents and advocates an opportunity to express objections to it. Although some local residents are opposed to sidewalks, others have expressed support.

The request to block sidewalks contravenes the City of Toronto’s missing sidewalks policies, its Vision Zero road safety policy, and its accessibility policies. Concerns about trees can be addressed in the detailed planning process.

• Read Walk Toronto’s communication to City Council (PDF)
• See the agenda item

Walk Toronto has written to Toronto City Council to support the Toronto Environmental Alliance’s call to reconsider how the City of Toronto uses the public spaces currently used for golf courses.

These golf courses are up for a lease renewal, and they occupy prime locations in the city’s unique ravine network. Some City golf courses block public rights-of-way on well-used, freely accessible recreational trails. The renewal of the golf leases is the right opportunity for the City to hold public consultations to re-think how these green spaces are used.

• Read Walk Toronto’s submission to City Council (PDF)
• See the City Council agenda item

Walk Toronto has written to the City of Toronto’s Executive Committee to support the “CaféTO” plan to encourage restaurant patios in curb lanes and retail plaza parking lots.

Walk Toronto noted that its primary concern is to ensure that the pedestrian clearway on sidewalks – an accessible 2.1 metres of open space where pedestrians can pass each other safely – is maintained. The CaféTO guidelines emphasize this issue but encroachment is always a danger and the City will need to be vigilant to ensure it is maintained.

Walk Toronto also reminded the City about the need for continuous sidewalk extensions on main streets with narrow sidewalks. Continuous extensions would be much more effective than the piecemeal extensions currently in place.

• Read Walk Toronto’s letter (PDF)
• See the agenda item “CaféTO – Increasing Outdoor Dining Space for Toronto Restaurants and Bars“

Walk Toronto has written to Mayor John Tory to support implementing safe physical distancing measures on Toronto’s streets, echoing calls for temporary pedestrian and cycling infrastructure endorsed by Ryerson University professors and epidemiologists Anne Harris and Linda Rothman, among others. The measures would involve opening curb lanes on main streets for use by pedestrians, by closing them to vehicle use, in order to enable pedestrians to keep 2 metres distance from each other where sidewalks are narrow or obstructed. The letter was written by Walk Toronto steering committee member Sean Marshall.

• Read Walk Toronto’s letter to Mayor Tory (PDF)

Walk Toronto has submitted a letter to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee supporting councillor Mike Layton’s request to reduce the number of intersections where vehicle right turns are allowed on red lights.

The letter was drafted by Walk Toronto’s Daniella Levy-Pinto. Sean Marshall spoke to the item at the committee meeting.

“Walk Toronto supports reducing the number of intersections that allow right turns on red. However, we see this as just the first step. If Toronto Council is truly committed to the principles of Vision Zero — and if it is serious about following the example of peer cities such as Montreal and New York — then it will enact a city-wide, blanket prohibition of right turns on red.“

• See the IEC agenda item, “Right-turns-on-red in Toronto”
• Read Walk Toronto’s letter (PDF)
• Watch Sean Marshall give his deputation, and read his thoughts about the experience