Item - 2019.TE9.85

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommended that:

1. City Council direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, to prioritize and expedite the implementation of Vision Zero street safety improvements in the CityPlace neighbourhood that have already been approved by City Council or Toronto and East York Community Council, given the impending opening of two new local elementary schools with 1,100 students.

There is no number of deaths or serious injuries on our streets that is acceptable. Each one is preventable. As a City, we must prioritize and accelerate measures to make our streets safe and accessible for all road users, especially vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists.

Over the last number of years, I have been working closely with the CityPlace community to identify street safety concerns and implement improvements. These changes have included the installation of traffic signals at Dan Leckie Way and Fort York Boulevard, and on the west side of Spadina Avenue at Lake Shore Boulevard West. We have also been collaboratively managing and mitigating construction-related safety issues. Implementing these improvements without delay has been my critical priority for years, as additional residents move into the neighbourhood and in anticipation of the opening of two new local elementary schools with 1,100 students in the coming months.

I have also secured Committee and Council approval for several more necessary traffic signals, stop signs, pedestrian crossings and crosswalks, and enhanced pavement markings that have not yet been installed. Achieving approval far in advance of the opening of our new community amenities was intentional, to ensure there was adequate time to install the much-needed improvements. However, many of them have yet to be implemented.

We must prioritize and accelerate the installation of these street safety improvements in CityPlace, including:

- New pedestrian crossing of Spadina Avenue on the south side of the existing signalized intersection with Bremner Boulevard and Fort York Boulevard (first requested in 2015, City Council approval July 2018).

- New pedestrian crossing of Spadina Avenue on the south side of the existing signalized intersection with Front Street West (City Council approval July 2018).

- New pedestrian crossing of Fort York Boulevard on the east side of the existing stop-controlled intersection with Brunel Court and Telegram Mews (Community Council approval July 2018).

- New all-way stop, new gap in the concrete median, and new pedestrian crossing of Fort York Boulevard at the intersection with Queens Wharf Road (Community Council approval April 2018).

- Finish installation of enhanced pavement markings indicating the pedestrian crossing at the new all-way stop that was installed at the intersection of Dan Leckie Way and Housey Street (Community Council approval June 2018).

- Design and build sidewalk and streetscape improvements to Bathurst Street between Fort York Boulevard and Housey Street (City Council approval July 2018).

- Implement comprehensive, multiple-phase safety improvements at the intersection of Lake Shore Boulevard West, Bathurst Street, and Fleet Street (City Council approval July 2019).