A clear loss in our battle at Community Council

We were tilting at windmills yesterday.

TURN, The Toronto Cyclists Union, TCAT, Toronto Pedestrian Committee, The Toronto Cycling Advisory Committee, and many citizens, including myself, spent yesterday afternoon and travelled out to the Etobicoke Civic Centre where we made deputations at the Etobicoke York Community Council about the South Kingsway/Queensway Interchange. We asked that either a link road be installed or that this item go to Public Works and Infrastructure or that this be deferred for more community meetings.

On the table was keeping the current interchange with "minor modifications." We were there because we don't believe that minor modifications will be safe enough. Staff supported this option as merely "doable" but not, as with the previous agenda item, "Wholeheartedly!" For those not in the know, when staff say "doable" it means that staff's arms were twisted by their political masters and they cannot publicly speak out against an awful plan, but rather do the best they can to make a bad situation work. When staff say "wholeheartedly", they mean that they think the plan is really great, and is what's going to be best for the neighbourhood and the city.

Unlike at public works, our mobilization meant little to the disinterested councillors who were talking to each other or else looked like they were daydreaming (at least those who stayed) while we spoke, and then they unanimously supported the status quo (with minor modifications.)

Before this item came up, there was a discussion of a pedestrian crossing on Evans Avenue, and the need to upgrade it to a signal. Dominic Gulli, Manager of Traffic Operations, Transportation Services – Etobicoke York District, patiently explained to the council that three collisions of motorists into pedestrians in the crosswalk during a five year period was below the threshold needed to upgrade this crosswalk. I hope that my family won't be the next people to be considered to be acceptable carnage, but with that attitude it's no wonder that our traffic injuries and fatalities are as high as they are!

But don't blame staff, it should have been the councillors who were outraged at this -- but they weren't! This is how it is: Cars are allowed to kill and injure x number of people per year per intersection or per km/roadway or per crosswalk -- that's acceptable. No improvements are required if the carnage stays below certain threshold values. It's not always the driver's fault -- drivers are rarely inattentive, careless, reckless, or aggressive; besides, the pedestrian should have looked first. This attitude is anything but new, J. S. Dean is known for documenting this attitude in the 1947 publication "Murder Most Foul" mostly based on research that occurred before WWII. Only a little has changed since then.

This question begs to be asked: How many cyclists and pedestrians will need to be injured or die each year at the South Kingsway/Queensway before we again get a chance to look at changing this?