Toronto mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat has unveiled her road safety plan to transform the city’s 100 most dangerous intersections within two years as well as ensure school areas are safe “by design.”
In an announcement made on Jarvis Street and Maitland Place, Toronto’s former city planner said not enough is being done to prevent pedestrian or cyclist deaths.
“Too many people are dying on our city streets,” she said. “Not enough is being done to ensure we’re preventing the deaths that we can prevent in our city.”
The plan promises, among other things, to reduce the speed limit to 30 km/h on all residential roads which Keesmaat said are currently confusing due to the “patchwork of speed limits.” As well, she said she’ll ensure areas surrounding schools are “safe by design.”
LISTEN: Jennifer Keesmaat talks road safety with 640 Toronto guest host Ed Keenan
Keesmaat said Toronto’s current mayor, John Tory, has only provided an “unacceptable and unambitious plan” when it comes to the Vision Zero plan.
“Vision Zero is an international movement to redesign cities to make streets safer, to prevent deaths in our cities through the redesign of our cities,” she said.
“What did John Tory do? He committed to reducing deaths on our streets by 20 per cent. Vision Zero is about reducing deaths by 100 per cent.”
LISTEN: Jennifer Keesmaat takes calls from 640 Toronto listeners
She said her plan will ensure any new infrastructure or development projects take a Vision Zero approach and “be built with the goal of zero pedestrian and cyclist fatalities on our streets.”
There were 93 pedestrian deaths in the city of Toronto in 2016.
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