pbrown@mollp.com
- Lifetime licence bans are needed to fight drinking and driving - January 6, 2021
- Tinted windows in automobiles: are they permitted in Ontario? - August 7, 2020
- Recent cycling deaths point to a need to make roads safer - July 27, 2020
While perceptions around the issue of pedestrian and cyclist safety in Toronto are changing, more should be done to discourage distracted driving in the downtown core, Toronto critical injury lawyer Patrick Brown tells Metro News.
As part of Metro News’ recent Toronto’s Deadly Streets series, Brown, partner with McLeish Orlando LLP and founder of Bike Law Canada, joined fellow pedestrian and cyclist advocates to reflect on the road safety debate and discuss how to ensure the City of Toronto’s new road safety plan translates into action.
As Metro News reports, the recently announced plan aims for a 20 per cent reduction in pedestrian and cyclist fatalities by 2026 — 59 have died in the last 18 months. Last year was one of the deadliest in recent memory, says the article, and city staff have suggested a number of programs to address the issue. Proposals include intersection redesigns, speed limit reductions, public awareness campaigns, and the creation of 25 pedestrian corridors across the city, where speed limits and signal timings would prioritize pedestrian safety.
Pledged to revisit plan
But while the plan has been approved, Metro News says council has to find more than $50 million in its budget for implementation and has pledged to revisit the plan on a regular basis.
Brown explains that Metro News’ recent media campaign has helped move the safety conversation forward.
“It’s changing perceptions. Even when I’m sitting at the dinner table now, people want to talk about pedestrians, cars and cyclists,” he says.
As the article notes, a decade ago, Brown represented the family of a man who was killed by a turning driver, who received an $85 fine.
“In a situation where a human life was taken, it just seemed so wrong,” says Brown.
Ultimately, Brown suggests that the entire downtown core should be a community safety zone, where fines for distracted driving, for example, would be increased.
“It sends a message that this is an area that is frequented by pedestrians and cyclists and therefore you’re subject to different rules,” he says in the article.
