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As Toronto furiously debates bike lanes and their role in the city’s notorious gridlock, mostly missing from the discussion is a culprit that at its peak occupied almost one-fifth of the city’s road network.

Construction — for provincially managed transit projects, condo and office buildings, and utility work to support Toronto’s booming growth — closes more kilometres of roadway than bike lanes, special events or anything else. City officials say construction closures are the biggest cause of the kind of traffic backups that are angering residents and the Ford government.

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A new report from the City of Toronto shows that by far the most vulnerable road users are pedestrians.

The report says that 29 pedestrians were killed and 134 seriously injured after being struck by vehicles on Toronto’s streets in 2023. Data collected by the City also indicates the riskiest locations for pedestrians – including mid-block (uncontrolled) crossings, and intersections, particularly when drivers are turning left.

The ARSC has been and will continue to be particularly focused on pedestrian safety on Avenue Road, as we work toward implementation of further phases of the Avenue Road safety improvement plan.

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Another pedestrian was seriously injured this afternoon on Avenue Road near Davenport. The collision involved a pedestrian, and three cars. One car jumped the curb onto the sidewalk. The pedestrian was transferred to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Road safety improvements on Avenue Road are scheduled to start soon, which unfortunately was not soon enough to prevent another injury.

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Aside from their negligible impact on car travel times, bike lanes get more people onto bikes by providing them a faster, safer option. That makes the lives of those cyclists better, and also means there are fewer cars on the road.

If Ford is actually concerned with moving cars better, he could accomplish that goal much more effectively by leaving bike lanes alone and joining Toronto’s fight to prevent blocking intersections through automatic camera enforcement power, and sharing more dollars for traffic wardens.

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Thank you for meeting with the Avenue Road Safety Coalition representatives on July 23 to discuss the City’s installed and planned improvements for Avenue Road between Davenport and Dupont.

The Avenue Road Safety Coalition is pleased with the progress made since May 9 and the news that work is proceeding quickly to complete some of the construction this season. The reduction to 4 lanes, a key ARSC goal to encourage slower speeds, is approved for the first kilometre. Since Council approved the revisions, we have seen tangible progress with the bike lanes, the design for pedestrian improvements between Davenport and Dupont are underway and that the much-needed signalized mid-block pedestrian crosswalk will be completed in sync with the sidewalk improvements over the next few months.

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After years of writing about traffic enforcement and pedestrian and cyclist safety, I became convinced that Toronto police either just don’t like or don’t respect policing the roads, and the leadership doesn’t see good reason to change that.

A former police officer told Habibinia much the same. There is a long-standing culture inside the police service where traffic enforcement is not considered “real police work” compared to “sexy” crime-fighting. Yet city hall, which sets the police budget, believes gridlock is a major problem, for people and for the economy.

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