Avenue Road Safety Coalition
TorontoCTVnews.ca: That so many professional drivers would be caught speeding is a sign of a design problem on Toronto’s roads, said Albert Koehl of the Avenue Road Safety Coalition.
“If I’m hit by a car, my body doesn’t care if it’s being driven by a city official or a neighbour or someone visiting the city. What people care about is the speed of the vehicle,” he said.
CBC.ca: Toronto is looking to roll out 25 new photo radar cameras around the city to help curb the number of fatalities and serious injuries, but critics say much more needs to be done to make city streets as safe as they can be.
Thanks to everyone who came out on a rainy Sunday evening. Also thanks to Jess Spieker, Friends and Families for Safe Streets, and the Avenue Road Safely Coalition.
SLATE.com: Over the past six years, Paris has done more than almost any city in the world to take space back from cars. Mayor Anne Hidalgo has opened linear parks in the old highways along the Seine, phased out diesel cars in the city, opened bus lanes, raised parking meter prices, and plowed bike lanes down hundreds of streets. When COVID hit, Paris eliminated cars from the Rue de Rivoli, its major crosstown thoroughfare. Plans are in the works to pedestrianize the Champs-Elysées and plant thousands of trees to green, clean, and cool the city.
trnto.com: The vision comes from Brown + Storey Architects Inc. and is in collaboration with the Avenue Road Safety Coalition (ARSC), a group of residents advocating for Avenue Road to be safer.
Toronto.CityNews.ca: Albert Koehl, Avenue Road Safety Coalition, is calling for a redesign of Avenue Road to improve safety. Melissa Nakhavoly speaks to the investments some would like the city to make to prevent deadly incidents from occurring.
Spacing.ca: Council will need to decide if Sam Cass and Fred Gardiner’s 1950s vision should rule the Toronto of today or if it’s time to heed the call of residents who want to reclaim their streets and rebuild them according to 21st century attitudes and priorities.
The Star: Avenue Road is currently “an urban speedway cutting through the neighbourhood.” It is basically a six-lane highway, and the design encourages fast traffic, speeding. The sidewalk is too narrow, especially for seniors, people with strollers, and people with accessibility issues.
Avenue Road is not safe for anyone now.
This redesign put forward by local residents and the Avenue Road Safety Coalition looks fabulous.
A better road design, with wider sidewalks, more green space, and lower speed limits, will make Avenue Road safer for everyone.
Toronto Urbanized: “ …reverse the dramatic road widening of the 1950s that narrowed sidewalks and uprooted trees”
