Category: Safe streets

bike lanes, Parkdale - High Park, Public health, Public infrastructure, Public safety, Safe streets, Toronto, Vision zero, Ward 4

Unsafe bus stops at Parkside Drive

highparkengr

A vigil for Fatima and Valdemar Avila will be held tonight, Tuesday, Oct. 19, from 4:30 to 5 p.m. at the corner of Parkside Dr and Spring Rd.

The Southbound bus stop at Parkside near Geoffrey St is such an infamous example of poor infrastructure design it should win some type of award for bad planning. There’s no sidewalk or crosswalk with street signals near it. It’s not near any High Park entrance. So, it would seem it was designed to encourage jaywalking in a major artery.

Dude, where’s our crosswalk?

Of course, all these problems could be solved by building a sidewalk and a crosswalk with street signals, but you know the status quo is so deeply entrenched in city hall that raising this issue will result in the usual pretexts for inaction. It takes real talent to come up with the excuses we frequently hear from the City of Toronto.

It gets worse. The intersection of Parkside and Algonquin Ave has what looks like a former or half-built bus stop on the Westside. What happened? Did the TTC get rid of a potential bus stop because the city didn’t want to build a crosswalk with street signals? No wonder TTC riders and pedestrians often feel an afterthought in T.O. a car-centric city by design.

Dude, where’s our bus stop?

And when you thought it couldn’t possibly get worse. The Southbound bus stop on Parkside just North of the Queensway has a “sidewalk” a dirt path where Google maps captured a Kodak moment of a pedestrian unsafely walking along with a dog. Imagine how much more treacherous this path gets during rain or winter.

Dude, where’s our sidewalk? ©2021 Google

Parkside needs a complete rethink, and I am not sure the folks currently in Council have the vision and initiative to undertake this work without public pressure. Often, they focus their energy on defending the status quo not on improving public safety. Otherwise, we would have seen action a long time ago.

Here are the typical status quo excuses and ways to counter them:

  • But Parkside is classified as a major artery and we cannot change this. Classifications can change or exemptions made to improve safety.
  • But infrastructure costs money. Infrastructure is an investment in safety, health, and creates jobs.
  • Enforcement should solve the problem. Temporarily maybe but not long term e.g., speedbumps are less expensive and more effective than constant policing.
  • But new sidewalks will remove parkland and affect the ecology. Not if we replace the rightmost Southbound car lane with bike lanes and a real sidewalk. Also, let’s not pretend the status quo protects the fauna frequently killed by vehicle collisions all along Parkside.
  • But more crosswalks with traffic signals will slow down traffic. When the 50km/hr. limit is not being respected, it is perfectly reasonable to build new safety infrastructure.

However, despite the excuses for inaction, I believe this time in consequence of recent fatal and serious collisions the pressure for change from the community is so strong we will see a safer Parkside. Parkside has been so unsafe it’s likely discouraged walking, taking the bus, and cycling. And now even drivers feel it’s unsafe. With adequate infrastructure (such as sidewalks, raised crosswalks with street signals, and bike lanes) we will see safety improvements for all, and more public transit users, pedestrians, and cyclists. Build it and they will come.

Further reading:

Two Wheeled Politics: It’s Time for a Safer Parkside by Robert Zaichkowski

The Parkside “sidewalk”
bike lanes, Public infrastructure, Public safety, Safe streets, Toronto, Vision zero, Ward 4

Parkside Drive needs more (raised) crosswalks with traffic signals

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Without traffic it only takes 4 minutes to drive along Parkside, from Bloor to Lakeshore.

A prediction from residents that one day there would be a fatal car collision on Parkside Drive became a tragic reality a few days ago. Joanna Lavoie’s excellent article documents many of the facts regarding this crash, and recommendations to make Parkside safer. So, rather than repeating this information kindly refer to this very informative article:

https://www.toronto.com/news-story/10496599-parkside-drive-residents-predicted-a-fatal-crash-on-their-speed-prone-street-now-two-people-are-dead/

It’s been said on social media that some drivers treat Parkside as an on-ramp to Lakeshore Blvd as if Lakeshore was a speedway. As someone who drives along Parkside once a week to visit my parents in Scarborough I must sadly agree. Furthermore, many pedestrians and cyclists have stated how unsafe it is to cross Parkside to get to High Park.

Consequently, a recommendation that should be strongly considered is the implementation of more crosswalks (preferably raised) with traffic signals along Parkside. Since more red lights mean less jaywalking, and less chance for vehicles to accelerate beyond the speed limit.

Parkside stretches almost 2 kilometers and only has four pedestrian crosswalks with traffic signals at Indian Valley Cres, Howard Park Ave, High Park Blvd, and Spring Rd. Without traffic, it takes only 4 minutes to drive along Parkside from Bloor to Lakeshore. No wonder many drivers treat it as a main artery. It’s time we put safety first and demand more crosswalks with traffic signals along Parkside, and other safety measures. Two lives were lost, and we have a moral obligation to try our best to prevent further injuries and deaths.

Of course, there are also many other good suggestions to improve safety in Lavoie’s article. More crosswalks with traffic signals are one idea. Finally, please consider contacting Councillor Gord Perks about this very critical local issue that has affected our community: https://gordperks.ca/contact-us/

Update: you may have heard the argument that Parkside is already classified by the City of T.O. as a major artery, as a pretext to justify the status quo. This argument fails to note that classifications can change, and having Parkside which is next to High Park (one of the largest public parks in the city) classified as a major artery was an incredibly bad decision in the first place. So, perhaps, it is time to reclassify Parkside as a minor artery. Finally, many in social media have recommended raised crosswalks which protect pedestrians by acting as speed bumps. This is an excellent idea.