Category: Latest Issues

Walk Toronto has written to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee in support of a motion to address problems with sidewalk snow clearing, IE2.8 – Request for First Year Review of Winter Maintenance Contracts and Addressing Obstructed Sidewalks with Snow and Ice.

Walk Toronto’s Doug Vallery writes that Toronto should “consider a coordinated, team approach to winter maintenance developed in Montreal, where roadway plows are followed by sidewalk plows in order that problematic windrows created by the former can immediately be cleared by the latter in one clean sweep.”

• See the agenda item
• Read Walk Toronto’s letter (PDF)

Walk Toronto has written to the Executive Committee to support the principle that CafeTO curbside patios should be placed on platforms level with the sidewalk to ensure accessibility, now that the program is becoming permanent.

While it was understandable that, in order to roll out the program quickly, partial solutions in the form of ramps were all that was required in the initial stage, experience showed that these did not provide full accessibility. Meanwhile, for this year, a federal program will subsidize half of the cost of the platforms.

Walk Toronto’s Dylan Reid wrote:

We believe, when restaurants make the calculation, that many will realize the platforms are a worthwhile longterm investment in their business. They are certainly a vital long-term investment in making Toronto a truly accessible city for all.

• Read Walk Toronto’s letter to Executive Committee (PDF)
• See the Executive Committee agenda item

Walk Toronto has written to Mayor John Tory to support making the ActiveTO Midtown Yonge Complete Street pilot project between Bloor Street and Davisville Avenue permanent. The pilot project included bike lanes, planters, CafeTO curbside patios, and artwork. It has led to a 142% increase in pedestrian activity in this strip, among other benefits.

Walk Toronto’s Lee Scott also spoke at the January 20, 2023 meeting of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee in favour of making this project permanent.

In the letter, Walk Toronto’s Lee Scott writes:

With the unprecedented development in the Midtown area of Toronto, we encourage a new vision of how the streets and sidewalks are used as this new growth is accommodated in affordable and space-efficient ways. Yonge is often referenced as Toronto’s Main Street and its narrow right-of-way south of St. Clair Avenue is particularly in need of Complete Street ideas that encourage travel by public transit, cycling, and walking.

• Read the Walk Toronto letter to support MidTown Complete Street Project (PDF)
• See the Infrastructure and Environment Committee agenda item
• Watch the Infrastructure and Environment Committee meeting

Walk Toronto has written to Toronto City Council to support a motion by councillor Dianne Saxe to improve construction safety on Bloor Street.

Multiple construction projects on Bloor Street, East and West, have reduced or removed sidewalk access and removed safe spaces for cyclists. The safety measures taken for active transportation have been inadequate and inconsistent. Walk Toronto’s letter specifically notes construction projects at Castle Frank subway station and the Glen Road pedestrian bridge, among others.

In his letter, Walk Toronto’s Michael Black concludes:

In order to avoid the mixing of modes and the incursions of bikes into areas designated for exclusive pedestrian use, we recommend that planners of building and road projects preserve existing active transportation infrastructure to the greatest extent possible when accommodating construction activity. If temporary changes cannot be avoided, then safe routes should be established which keep pedestrians properly separated from cyclists, and in turn keep all active transportation users separated from vehicular traffic.

The motion was passed by City Council by a 25-1 vote.

• Read the agenda item for the Dianne Saxe motion
• Read Walk Toronto’s letter (PDF)

Walk Toronto has joined Cycle Toronto, Friends and Families for Safe Streets, and The Centre for Active Transportation to create a campaign to bring safe and active streets to the heart of the discussion in the 2022 Toronto municipal election.

The Safe and Active Streets for All initiative identifies 10 priority actions and asks election candidates whether they support these actions to make Toronto’s streets safer and more accessible.

1. Building Complete Streets across every ward in Toronto
2. Establishing and Implementing a Vision Zero Safety Checklist
3. Streamlining the traffic calming process equitably across the city
4. Reducing traffic speed on our streets to 30 km/h and 40 km/h on all arterial roads city-wide
5. Improving the safety and accessibility for people walking and using mobility devices
6. Accelerating the Cycling Network Plan to provide safe and connected bike lanes in every ward
7. Funding & supporting Active School Travel programs to ensure young people can safely walk and bike to school
8. Investing in equitable methods to manage traffic enforcement by reallocating resources away from on-the-ground police enforcement
9. Reallocating road space to provide regular and recurring car-free spaces for active transportation
10. Supporting the multi-modal future of Toronto’s transportation system

Walk Toronto has joined 15 other organizations dedicated to road safety to urge the Chief Coroner of Ontario to commence death reviews for road fatalities involving pickups and large SUVs based on the growing body of research that these vehicles pose a greater risk of death to pedestrians and cyclists than conventional cars (e.g., sedans) on our roads. We believe, based on the research, that pickups and large SUVs have been involved in deaths on our roads that would not have occurred with regular cars.

We believe an investigative review for pickups and large SUVs, typically designated as “light trucks,” is needed to save the lives of people on foot, bikes, and who rely on mobility devices, including wheelchairs and scooters, or who have visual impairments.

The letter includes an extensive analysis of the evidence relating to the danger posed by oversized pickups and light trucks to pedestrians and cyclists.

• Read the full letter: Request for investigation of road deaths in Ontario involving pick-up trucks, large SUVs, and heavy trucks (PDF)
• See the CBC News story (quoting Walk Toronto’s Daniella Levy-Pinto)
• Watch the CBC News video clip (featuring Walk Toronto’s Daniella Levy-Pinto)
• Watch the CityNews video clip (featuring Walk Toronto’s Daniella Levy-Pinto)

Walk Toronto has written to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee to support plans to improve the midtown Beltline Trail. In particular, Walk Toronto supports the extension of the York Beltline Trail to the Allen Road along a currently unused City of Toronto right-of-way, with the intention of improving the connection to the Kay Gardiner Beltline Trail to the east, and setting up a possible future bridge to connect the two directly.

Walk Toronto’s submission also provides detailed assessments of improvements that would make walking the Beltline Trail safer and easier to use.

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

The potential extension is circled in red below. Some local residents on Fairleigh Crescent who have used this space as an extension of their back yards are objecting to the plans, but this space is owned by the City of Toronto and should be available to all residents.

As Michael Black writes in Walk Toronto’s communication, “Clearly, this is an improvement that will benefit Torontonians who live in various parts of the city. It is not appropriate to view this initiative as having only local significance. This should not be seen as a parkette, but rather as a major linkage in a linear park that is 9 kilometres long.”

The bike lane pilot project on Yonge Street from Bloor to Davisville has made Yonge a better street for walking as well as cycling. Walk Toronto has written to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee to support the continuation of this bike lane pilot project.

Among other things, Walk Toronto’s letter notes that “By providing a buffer between car traffic and the sidewalk, the bike lanes have made walking along Yonge Street much more appealing. The sidewalks are relatively narrow for the amount of foot traffic Yonge Street receives, and having a buffer from traffic makes using those sidewalks far more pleasant.”

A survey (PDF) confirmed that 77% of respondents who were on foot felt that the walking environment had improved.

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

Walk Toronto has written to Ontario Premier Doug Ford in support of Bill 54, Protecting Vulnerable Roads Users Act. The objective of
this bill is to protect all forms of road users by amending the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) to include added meaningful penalties where a vulnerable road user has been seriously injured or killed.

The letter was written by Walk Toronto steering committee member Daniella Levy-Pinto. ” I am totally blind,” she writes, “and there is a limit to what I can do to stay safe while crossing the street – my safety, and the safety of others, greatly depends on drivers following the rules and paying attention to vulnerable road users, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities.”

• Read Walk Toronto’s letter in support of Bill 54 (PDF)
• Find out more about Bill 54: Protecting Vulnerable Road Users

Walk Toronto has long been part of a coalition working to implement a Vulnerable Road Users Law in Ontario.

Bill 54: Protecting Vulnerable Road Users will apply mandatory penalties to drivers who break the law and cause injuries or death to pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. Recently, it passed second reading in the provincial legislature. In the next few weeks, your MPP will vote on whether Bill 54 becomes law.

Currently, people who drive vehicles and injure or kill someone on our roads face minimal sentencing. Most deaths and injuries do not result in charges. For those who are charged, the charge is applied under the Highway Traffic Act and most convictions result in a fine only. The passing of Bill 54 would change this situation and create real consequences for drivers who cause injuries or deaths because they have broken the law.

We encourage our supporters to write to their MPP to ask them to support Bill 54: Protecting Vulnerable Road Users

• Contact your MPP to support Bill 54
• Find out more about Bill 54: Protecting Vulnerable Road Users
• See Walk Toronto’s email to our supporters urging them to write in support of Bill 54