‘Life is worth more than a dime’: Tod Fox advocates for road safety in Saskatoon

Saskatoon city council is set to discuss the road safety review for the College Drive and Wiggins Avenue intersection Wednesday.

The report stems from the death of Natasha Fox, who was struck by a vehicle on her way to work in May 2023, and her husband, Tod, has been vocal about change being needed in the city to prevent any similar incidents.

“You now have to act on this study. To not only consider the facts, but to also consider what matters to this community, and to consider what is fair and reasonable,” Tod said in a Reddit post of his speech to council.

2:02 Natasha Fox’s husband advocates for bike safety after her death

He pointed to the safety review recognizing that College Drive and Wiggins Avenue was the most biked and second most walked intersection in Saskatoon.

“What does that mean? It means, whether you like it or not, this intersection is your top priority.”

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Tod said he doesn’t want to be someone who tells city councillors how to do their job and what their obligations are.

“I do not want to be one of those people but here I am, because nothing has changed, so let me tell you that your job is to represent and care for this community.”

He said this wasn’t an “us versus them” debate, adding that active transportation infrastructure wasn’t just for pedestrians and cyclists, and that people make mistakes.

“Motorists, whether at fault or not, are damaged as well. I do not imagine having to go home to tell your spouse and children that your vehicle killed someone is anything but horrific. It makes me feel sick just thinking about it now.”

4:07 Safety audit to look at making roads safer for cyclists

“Infrastructure allows drivers to return to their families as equally unscathed as the vulnerable road user. When you reframe the problem like this, it has been my experience you find support where there wasn’t,” Tod said.

A list of 14 recommendations were written in the report to council, but the agenda shows that city administration only recommends 11 of them.

Tod said that the city should listen to the experts they brought in to study the intersection, saying that the city should paint a bike box, paint a bike lane on Wiggins Avenue between College Drive and Elliott Street and restrict right turns on a red light.

“Your report calls for change. Yet, your managers are telling you change is too risky.”

The recommendation Tod is pushing for is listed with a price tag of $25,600, but he says that’s a small price to pay.

“Ask yourself this: what do you have to lose in adopting the expert advice you paid for? $25,600? That’s about $0.09 per resident. Can you commit to investing less than a dime for every person who calls this city home?” Tod said.

“If I know one thing about this community, we would all agree a life is worth more than a dime.”

On top of the handful of people requesting to speak on this issue Wednesday morning, the city also received 32 comments submitted.