bylaw change - 30 km/hr blanket change for East York and Old City of Toronto.

[kiwi]

So I spotted this in todays news:

http://www.cp24.com/news/city-staff-warn-against-lowering-residential-speed-limits-1.2422730

A city official is urging councillors to put the brakes on a contentious proposal to reduce the speed limit on residential streets throughout East York and the old City of Toronto.A group of downtown councillors had asked General Manager of Transportation Services Stephen Buckley to look into the feasibility of lowering speed limits from 40 to 30 km/h but in a report that will be considered by the Toronto and East York community council next Monday, the bureaucrat warned that the blanket reduction of speed limits may not be effective.
The total cost of lowering speed limits on residential streets is believed to be about $1.1 million.

Hopefully they take the advice and avoid the blanket bylaw.

 

[kiwi]

Also from the above link:

In the staff report Buckley did point out that over a five-year span (2009-2013) 91 per cent of all pedestrian fatalities occurred on roads with posted speed limits of 50 km/h or more but the report also noted that 88.6 per cent of pedestrian fatalities and 100 per cent of cyclist fatalities occurred on major and minor arterial roads, casting doubt on whether lowering speed limits in residential neighbourhoods will really save that many lives.

Lets hope they take heed and avoid the blanket approach

 

[nfq]

Sounds like they need to start education pedestrians...

 

[nobbie48]

Sounds like they need to start education pedestrians...

If you go on you-tube there are videos of really stupid crashes in China. Someone made a believable explanation of the problem stemming from the migration of villagers to the city. In the villages the traffic is bicycles and donkey carts. Pedestrians can wander about as they please with little chance of harm. Not so in the cities.

If you want to see the Canadian version just go to Niagara-on-the-Lake on a summer weekend and watch the cow-brained shoppers treat the main street like a the centre court of a shopping mall.

 

[Blackfin]

It used to be that in Britain the speed limit was 2 miles per hour in the city and "horseless carriages" had to be preceded by a man walking with a red flag.

It's 2015 and we're seriously retrograding back toward this sort of lunacy?

Police are pretty draconian about distracted driving: How about some laws and enforcement for pedestrians? How about some "distracted walking" laws, for example? How about enforcement of laws regarding "jay walking"? I would love to see a "jaw walking" trap setup just once, instead of a speed trap...

 

[unL33T]

If everyone follows right of way even excessive speeds wouldn't be nearly as much of a problem. Speed rarely causes accidents, just makes them worse (my opinion, anyway). How about we work on preventing the accidents (collisions with pedestrians and cyclists) instead of a bandaid solution of just trying to make them not die when they do get hit? It would only work if people actually drive that slow and next to no one will. My neighborhood is 40 kph and people blow through at over 60. That bothers me less than the fact that half the people don't even slow down for stop signs.

 

[Rob MacLennan]

Unfortunately this is another instance of trying to fix a problem, without actually addressing the root cause. Pedestrians cross streets at locations other than marked crossings, in the downtown core, contrary to the HTA. They begin crossing against a light, before a light changes, or after the caution starts flashing. They treat streets like an extension of the sidewalk.

The city needs to pull its collective head out and realize what is the real issue.

 

[Baggsy]

Is Toronto the new New York? Glad I don't live anywhere near there.
Out here the local roads are pretty much 80.

One solution, might be to just keep phoning it in.

Maybe if enough of the locals get enough tickets, they may have second thoughts?

Most of the time, it starts with a NIMBY attitude, but they don't believe that it should apply to them.

 

[nfq]

Is Toronto the new New York? Glad I don't live anywhere near there.
Out here the local roads are pretty much 80.

One solution, might be to just keep phoning it in.

Maybe if enough of the locals get enough tickets, they may have second thoughts?

Most of the time, it starts with a NIMBY attitude, but they don't believe that it should apply to them.

This. So much this.

 

[kiwi]

Is Toronto the new New York? Glad I don't live anywhere near there.
Out here the local roads are pretty much 80.

One solution, might be to just keep phoning it in.

Maybe if enough of the locals get enough tickets, they may have second thoughts?

Most of the time, it starts with a NIMBY attitude, but they don't believe that it should apply to them.

Yep. In my neighbourhood it's the locals who speed home from the GO station through the parking lot and streets to their homes. One major road is now a 40km/hr zone. Everyone.. TTC buses, the locals etc go through there at 50-60 easily..

Theres a 40km zone down a steep Hill near by too.. And often a speed trap at the bottom.. I was lucky enough my 50km wasn't enough to warrant me getting pulled over when I drove my the local constable hiding there on Monday.