Update on the City’s Road Safety Plan

This past July, City Council unanimously approved Toronto’s first-ever comprehensive Road Safety Plan, which I spearheaded as Chair of Public Works. I’m excited to share that we’re making significant progress on putting the plan into action!

By November 1st, all of the 14 Pedestrian Safety Corridors identified in the Road Safety Plan will be completed, and over the next two months at 13 locations across Toronto, city crews are implementing geometric safety improvements to make our streets safer for all who use them.

To give you a sense of the scale of this work, new and improved pavement markings have been completed at 317 intersections since the summer. To cap it all off, last month I was fortunate to attend the Transportation Association of Canada’s conference, where the City of Toronto was awarded the 2016 Road Safety Engineering Award for its Curb Radii Design Guidelines.

These guidelines are designed to improve safety by decreasing the frequency and severity of collisions. By having smaller curb radii, pedestrians spend less time crossing the intersection. In addition, tightened curb radii improve visibility of pedestrians and help ensure drivers slow down at intersections.

This prestigious award recognizes Toronto’s Curb Radii Design Guidelines as the new national standard across Canada – it also showcases our city’s commitment to encouraging innovation in transportation and road safety.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Road Safety Plan this fall!