Dangerous Toronto intersection is finally getting traffic lights
Today was a big day for Toronto, as city council met for the first time in a while to discuss everything from climate change, to gun violence, to road safety.
One of the major accomplishments of the day was the successful vote to install traffic lights at one particularly dangerous Toronto intersection.
The corner of Bay St. and St. Mary St., just south of Bloor, has been the site of 15 collisions in the past three years alone, according to CBC's Matt Elliott.
I wrote about the Bay Street & St. Mary intersection in my CBC piece this week. FIFTEEN collisions over the last three years, two involving cyclists and one involving a pedestrian — seven potentially preventable with a traffic light. But sure, vote against it. pic.twitter.com/gzWKBnAupc
— Matt Elliott (@GraphicMatt) October 2, 2019
Two of the accidents involved a cyclist, one involved a pedestrian, and seven of the collisions were said to be preventable by the installation of a traffic light.
But despite the clear danger this intersection presents, an August report from the Acting Director of Traffic Management and Transportation Services recommends that traffic lights not be installed in this location because there isn't enough vehicle traffic.
The report also highlights the estimated cost associated with the installation, which is approximately $200,000.
Still, City Councillor for the area Kristyn Wong-Tam moved to propose the installation at today's meeting, and it was approved 23-3.
Council votes 22-3 to APPROVE the installation of traffic lights at Bay Street & St. Mary Street. pic.twitter.com/ZGKTi7lfIM
— Matt Elliott (@GraphicMatt) October 2, 2019
"City Council authorize and request the Director, Traffic Management, Transportation Services to install traffic control signals at the intersection of Bay Street and St. Mary Street as soon as possible to enhance protections for vulnerable road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists, as part of Vision Zero," the decision states.
