Rees To Riley (Chair, Toronto Pedestrian Council)

From: Mark Rees
To: Helen Riley

Subject: Dangers Faced By Pedestrians At Traffic Intersection of Oxton Avenue & Oriole Parkway

January 14, 2006

Ms. Helen Riley
Chair, Toronto Pedestrian Committee
City of Toronto

Dear Ms. Riley:

Recently, I read some alarming statistics (Toronto Star, January 4th, 2006) that indicated that some 200 pedestrians on average are hit by cars each month, of which last year 29 were killed. It is precisely for this reason that I am writing to you as part of my efforts to highlight the dangers faced by local pedestrians at the traffic intersection of Oxton Avenue at Oriole Parkway and to obtain your committee’s support in helping to make this corner safe for pedestrians.

As a ten year Oriole Parkway resident I have seen this intersection go from manageable several years ago to down-right dangerous today. A direct result of the city’s removal of the corner’s stop sign (among other pedestrian unfriendly changes) to create a non-stopping, free-flowing 20,000 cars a day artery (city statistic), “topped off” by the driver desensitizing “Pedestrian Wait For The Gap” signs. Clearly an accident is waiting to happen.

Local residents and pedestrians have been adversely affected such that they are…:

• Fearful and uneasy at the thought of crossing Oxton-Oriole.
  
• Forced into challenging traffic in order to cross.
  
• Forced to out of their way to avoid the Oxton-Oriole intersection on the natural route to the subway.
  
• That the near-by Oxton crosswalk is poorly located, out-of-the-way and seldom used (and I now understand that Mayor Millers has suggested that Toronto’s crosswalks could be unsafe).

Local pedestrians face real risks to their personal safety…

• As drivers are now conditioned to be believe pedestrians are waiting a traffic gap are often totally surprised to find a pedestrian crossing the road (at a walking speed of 3km’s verse a car's 60km; it’s no contest)
  
• Many drivers now feel compelled to either (1) honk at you, (2) be belligerent to you or worse (3) try to pass dangerously close in front of or behind you to get by while continuing at unabated speed.
  
• Nearly every local resident I’ve talked to has had a very “close encounter” with a car (one car even ran over a ladies suitcase she was pulling it behind her).
  
• Should any driver attempt to stop for a pedestrian (remember it is now a 20,000 cars a day, non stop and free flowing river of steel!) or out of fear (since many drivers find this corner intimidating), a chorus of honking results that has made the lives of the residents of 130 Oriole Parkway (the corner building) totally miserable.
  
• Poor intersection lighting compounds the problems and makes it difficult for drivers to see pedestrians at night.

Bottom line…

• You have to stop, wait, then run across or dodge traffic. No elderly, ill person or child let alone healthy adult can do it safety! It is only a matter of time before some is killed.

Personal action taken to date to make the corner of Oxton-Oriole safe for pedestrians…

Following another close call with a vehicle last year (even though I was well into the pedestrian gap) I decide enough was enough and launched a local website (http://www.oxton.blogspot.com/) to represent the pedestrian safety interests of people living in buildings 100, 110, 120 & 130 Oriole Parkway. I also, met with Councillor Michael Walker and presented a petition calling for the return at the very minimum of our former stop sign. Although Councillor Walker is intimately acquainted with our intersection and has request a 10km posted speed reduction and “Quiet, Residential Neighbourhood” signs posted I am given to understand steadfast resistance from Transportation Services to any additional measures that would return a degree of safety to this intersection has led to the matter being indefinitely deferred by the Toronto and East York Community Council. Consequently, he has arranged a local public meeting for February 2nd, at Toronto Memorial Community Centre, 200 Eglinton West @ 7:00pm) to hear local concerns [this was before I learned that this date had been provided to by mistake].

Pedestrian Committee support needed to help make the corner of Oxton-Oriole safe for pedestrian...

While I am very appreciative of Councillor Walker’s efforts and his actions thus far we still have not made any significant progress on the core issue of pedestrian safety at this intersection. Transportation Services will tell you Oxton Avenue is a highway (11A), that there are no rules in the “manual” to accommodate the pedestrians dynamics at this intersection and that there are few pedestrians anyway.

It is true however, that many of the people who might naturally use this crossing point (including myself) are now so fearful of getting hit by a car that they feel forced to take alternate, long-way-round routes, the fact remains that people will cross and this intersection (including myself) as it is on the naturally route to subway and Yonge Street.

So why did the city take out the stop sign?

I am told the single over ridding reason for making the present corner configurations was to accommodate the wishes of near-by homeowners who wanted to stop non local cars short-cutting cars through their streets such that we living at Oxton and oriole are now inconvenienced (made to go out of our way), the lives of the corner building residents are made miserable (constant hooking) and our safety as pedestrians imperilled.

In summery:

If 20,000 cars a day are to be “pushed” on to Oxton Avenue, then at the very least the city should make it safe for local residents and pedestrians to cross the street. I hope that in your deliberations and review of pedestrian safety across the city of Toronto that you come to agree that serious attention needs to be given to the pedestrian safety concerns facing the local residents of Oxton Avenue and Oriole Parkway. To this end I would welcome the opportunity to appear before the to committee to highlight the issues and explore ways in which pedestrian safety can be satisfactory restored to Oxton-Oriole such that the cars keep moving (the city’s aim) and the pedestrians cross in safety (my aim).

I look forward to hearing from you.

Mark Rees
Toronto
Email: orioleatoxton@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.oxton.blogspot.com/

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