Transit advocates in Toronto are calling for increased platform safety after a woman was pushed onto the subway tracks in an incident police are treating as an attempted murder.
On Monday morning, police said a woman narrowly escaped being hit by a TTC subway train after she was pushed off the platform. Police said the incident happened at the Bloor-Yonge subway station downtown at around 9 p.m Sunday night.
A 39-year-old woman suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries due to the fall but was not hit by the train, police said.
Now, a local advocacy group, TTC Riders, says the incident highlights a need for better safety features on the Toronto subway.
“Safety doors at the edge of subway platforms will increase safety, reduce delays and improve accessibility for people with disabilities,” Shelagh Pizey-Allen, the executive director of TTC Riders, said in a statement sent to Global News.
Platform doors are in the TTC’s long-term capital plan, the organization said, but the funding has not been found for them. The TTC confirmed to Global News it had studied the option but it remained unfunded.
“The TTC has long supported (platform edge doors) as they improve safety and reduce debris on the tracks,” Stuart Green, the TTC’s spokesperson, said in a statement. “They require significant platform reconstruction as well as implementation of ATC to ensure doors line up in stations.”
On Tuesday morning, Metrolinx also confirmed new subway projects currently under construction, including the Ontario Line, would be fitted with safety features including platform doors.
“Politicians like to announce new subway lines, but the TTC needs more capital funding from all levels of government to maintain and upgrade the system we already have, and more operating funding to increase service frequency,” TTC Riders said.
Green reiterated that TTC staff were “shocked” by the incident and highlighted events of this nature were rare.
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