Implementation of Additional Road Safety Measures and Accelerating the Vision Zero Road Safety Plan - by Councillor Jaye Robinson, seconded by Councillor Mike Colle

While lower than the number of road fatalities in 2016, which reached 78 by year end, it is likely that Toronto's end of year traffic fatalities for 2018 will exceed the 63 fatalities recorded in 2017. City Council and staff have worked hard to make our streets safer, particularly for Toronto's most vulnerable road users. In 2016, Council voted unanimously to implement the City's first comprehensive Road Safety Plan - Vision Zero - based on international best practices. Since its introduction, City Council has implemented the plan aggressively, increasing program funding multiple times, and accelerating key elements of the plan on six occasions. By the end of 2018, the City will have installed 74 senior safety zones, 128 school safety zones, and an additional 268 community safety zones. Additional measures taken to reduce traffic fatalities include, but are not limited to, implementation of increased pedestrian walk times at intersections across the city to accommodate safe crossings for older residents and residents with reduced mobility, installation of "watch your speed" driver feedback signs (responsible for having reduced the number of vehicles travelling over the speed limit by up to 34 percent in school zones), and increased enforcement across the City. Without minimizing the significant actions taken on this issue, it is evident that much more must be done to increase road safety. This is particularly true for our most vulnerable road users - cyclists, seniors, children, and residents with limited mobility.

3. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services to report to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee in the first quarter of 2019 with specific recommendations to improve and enhance the school crossing guard program recently transitioned to Transportation Services from the Toronto Police Service. 4. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services to explore enhanced partnerships with the University of Toronto's Transportation Research Institute or similar Toronto research centres to collaborate on data collection and management and develop new, evidence-based road safety strategies. 5. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services to report to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee in the first quarter of 2019 on the feasibility and financial implications of establishing a contract open year-round to expedite the procurement and installation of traffic calming measures. 6. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services, to meet with executives at Waze, a popular GPS navigation software app, to discuss methods to reduce the implications of commuter traffic infiltration on local roads, particularly in areas with high numbers of vulnerable road users.