Deadly Tanker Truck Crashes on Highway 401 - by Councillor Mike Colle, seconded by Councillor James Pasternak

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The decision

2023-07-19 · Toronto City Council · adopted

As filed

City Council on July 19 and 20, 2023, adopted the following: 1. City Council request the Executive Director, Toronto Emergency Management, in consultation with the Fire Chief and General Manager, Toronto Fire Services and the Chief of Toronto Paramedic Services to report on this risk and actions the City of Toronto might take to ensure its residents who live in close proximity to Highway 401 are safe and to include possible recommendations to the Provincial and Federal Governments.

The vote

Adopt Item · Carried, 22-0

Absent (4)Gary Crawford, Jaye Robinson, Josh Matlow, Michael Thompson

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As the city filed it

On the evening of Tuesday, June 20th, an entire stretch of Highway 401 near Pickering was closed after a tanker truck crashed sparking a massive fireball that killed two drivers. An eastbound transport truck hauling fuel lost control and hit the concrete divider that separates the eastbound and westbound lanes of highway traffic, rolled over, ruptured and caught fire. Two other vehicles, a truck and a passenger car, had been travelling westbound when they drove through the flames and caught fire.

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Both drivers were found without vital signs and pronounced dead at the scene. Given that Highway 401 travels through 15 of Toronto's 25 wards and hosts a monumental and growing number of transport trucks, it poses a significant risk to the safety of other drivers and millions of residents and so I am moving the following motion. This Motion is urgent because it relates to a significant health and safety matter concerning the ongoing risk of tanker trucks hauling toxic and flammable contents through heavily populated areas of Toronto immediately adjacent to Highway 401.

Staff recommended

Councillor Mike Colle, seconded by Councillor James Pasternak, recommends that: 1. City Council request the Province of Ontario to require tanker trucks hauling toxic and flammable materials to use Highway 407 instead of creating additional risk travelling on the already overcrowded Highway 401 through the heart of the City of Toronto. 2. City Council request the Province and the 407 ETR Corporation to waive fees for these Transport Trucks to use Highway 407 as an alternative to Highway 401.

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3. City Council request the Executive Director, Toronto Emergency Management, in consultation with the Fire Chief and General Manager, Toronto Fire Services and the Chief of Toronto Paramedic Services to report on this risk and actions the City of Toronto might take to ensure its residents who live in close proximity to Highway 401 are safe and to include possible recommendations to the Provincial and Federal Governments.

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