The Avenue Road Safety Coalition (ARSC) represents the concerns of the residents and visitors to Avenue Road who walk and cycle between Bloor Street and St. Clair Avenue. We embody the City’s Planning Objective to “create the right balance of space for pedestrians, cyclists, transit and vehicles.”
This 2.1-kilometre stretch of Avenue Road between St. Clair Avenue and Bloor Street West is a six-lane, high-speed road that is unsafe and hostile to pedestrians and cyclists. The sidewalks are substandard and dangerously narrow, especially when considering the speeding cars and trucks.
A positive message from an ARSC member
Via email:
On the beautiful morning of Saturday, May 10, I saw this running club rounding the bend at Roxborough St. to jog southbound on Avenue Rd. There must have been about 30 runners. In contrast to the past, where they would have been jostling on a thin slice of sidewalk while cars roared past them, the running pack were able to unfurl onto the new wider “sidewalks” created by the colourful jersey blocks.It was glorious to behold, and a vision of what Avenue Road was meant to be – a street for those who live, work, and play there. Go, Avenue Road!
~ Susan A.
Thanks to Councillor Saxe and the many Avenue Road Safety Coalition members who tirelessly advocate for our right to safe sidewalks.
Now, runners, schoolchildren, seniors, and other pedestrians can travel along the section of Avenue Road in Ward 11, safely separated from the adjacent four lanes of traffic.
Councillor Matlow, please intensify your advocacy for the basic right to safe sidewalks along Avenue Road in Ward 12.
No one should need to risk their safety by using narrow sidewalks dangerously close to a six-lane expressway that cuts through a densely populated residential neighborhood.
Featured Posts
Avenue Road Safety Coalition Member Speaks Out
Instead of doubling down on drivers which is a lose-lose game for everyone, perhaps Mr. Ford should instead be focused on making walking, cycling, and transit more attractive? After all, that’s the only proven way to reduce gridlock.
Read more
News
Safe Sidewalks on Avenue Road now!
The Avenue Road Safety Coalition made a video in 2020 to illustrate the safety issues posed by the narrow sidewalks in the 6-lane section of Avenue Rd. between Bloor Street and St. Clair Avenue. We spoke to many residents, business owners and local residents’ association members about the problems and potential solutions.
Watch video now
Truck driver charged as family remember Toronto deliveryman killed on Avenue Road
Police have now charged the 52-year-old truck driver in the April 30 death of Ali Sezgin Armagan, a recent immigrant from Turkey, who was killed while riding his bike for work outside an Avenue Road construction site. The driver is facing a charge of careless driving causing bodily harm or death. Armagan was killed when the driver of the flatbed truck made a left turn into a loading dock near Elgin Ave.
The Avenue Road Safety Coalition Honoured for its Community Leadership
The Avenue Road Safety Coalition (ARSC) received recognition this week from the Member of the Provincial Parliament, University-Rosedale, Jessica Bell, for our leadership work to improve road safety.
Over the past seven years, the ARSC has been working together with a multitude of organizations and individuals to advocate for redesigning the six-lane Avenue Road expressway between St Clair and Bloor Street West.
This is what a 6-lane Avenue Road looks like
Tuesday, October 31, 2023, around 9 a.m., during rush hour on Avenue Rd., just south of Davenport. Speeding traffic and dangerously narrow sidewalks is not a good combination.
ARSC in the News
‘Our family is shattered’: Relatives mourn death of Sheridan College student at dangerous Toronto intersection
Kartik Saini, 20, died after being struck and dragged by a pickup at St. Clair Avenue and Yonge Street on Wednesday afternoon.
Parveen Saini says his family has “lost everything” after his 20-year-old nephew Kartik Saini, an international student from India, was struck and killed by a pickup truck driver making an apparent illegal right turn on Wednesday in Toronto.
Cyclist death renews calls for improved road safety
Albert Koehl, Avenue Road Safety Coalition, is calling for a redesign of Avenue Road to improve safety.
City News reporter Melissa Nakhavoly speaks to the investments some would like the city to make to prevent deadly incidents from occurring.
New proposal would turn part of high-speed Toronto road into a linear park
A group of concerned citizens and an architecture firm are proposing to create a new linear park along Avenue Road to improve walkability and safety.
The proposal calls for the stretch of Avenue between Bloor Avenue West and St. Clair Avenue West to be reduced from six lanes of traffic down to four, which would allow for sidewalks to be widened 240 per cent from their current width and accommodate 500 new trees.