Cyclists call for more safety, infrastructure in Toronto

TORONTO – Chicago will soon fine drivers $1000 for opening their doors on  unsuspecting cyclists. That has some asking what Toronto is doing to curb something that causes dozens of injuries each year.

Chavisa Brett was doored last year when she was cycling on Yonge Street near Carlton Avenue.

“I went up and over, flying on to the other side of their door, landing on concrete,” Brett said. “I feel like cycling in Toronto is too dangerous.”

She sustained serious bruising and soft tissue injuries.

“Dooring” or being “doored” happens when a parked driver opens his or her door in the path of a cyclist who doesn’t have time to move out the way.

In Chicago, dooring accounts for 12 to 17 per cent of all accidents each year, according to Charlie Short, a cycling activist in the American city.

In 2008, the fine for dooring in Chicago was $500 but city officials recently voted to double that fine to $1000. The change takes effect on July 6.

“We knew it was a problem, we knew it was happening all over the city. Mostly by anecdotal evidence. And so urged the Chicago police to start tracking that information,” Short said.

Officials in Los Angeles and New York City also track dooring in their cities.

But Toronto officials don’t track it because by law, it’s not a collision.

According to the Highway Traffic Act definition, the vehicle would need to be moving, says Toronto Police Const. Clint Stibbe.

But the incidents can still be investigated. Stibbe said dooring could fall under improper opening of a vehicle door, which carries a fine of $110.

Jared Kolb, a Toronto-area cycling advocate, said city officials need to do more – including building more cycling infrastructure.

“Get them out of the pathway of opening doors. In other words: bike lanes,” Kolb said. “Cyclists need their own space on the roads.”