Kathleen Wynne urges Pokémon Go players to keep their heads up
Pokémon Go players should keep their heads up and their eyes open and, when crossing a road, look drivers in the eyes, advises Ontario’s premier.

TheStar.com
July 18, 2016
Robert Benzie and Sammy Hudes

Pokémon Go players should keep their heads up and their eyes open for more than just elusive Zapdos or Mew.

Premier Kathleen Wynne is urging users of the popular new game, which has people more glued than ever to their smartphones, to take care.

“I will just say it’s fun, it’s a craze. We need to just be careful in terms of distraction,” the premier said in response to questions Monday. “Not distraction by your question, but distraction of people walking around, you know, looking at their phones,” she told reporters.

While imploring Pokémon Go enthusiasts to keep their wits about them, Wynne was dubious about a pedestrian safety proposal by Toronto city councillors that some have derided as witless.

Council voted 26-15 last Thursday to ask the province to amend the Highway Traffic Act to prohibit “actively using a hand-held wireless communication device or hand-held electronic entertainment device while on any travelled portion of a roadway.”

But Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said Friday there is no plan to change the law, noting the city is already has the power to ban texting while walking if it so chooses. Wynne questioned the wisdom of the municipality’s motion Monday.

“I’m very interested in regulations and legislation that are enforceable, that work,” the premier said.

Councillor Frances Nunziata, who put forth the motion, defended it Monday.

“I’m actually surprised that the province dismissed it so fast,” she said. “I think what I was expecting is that for it to come back with suggestions on how we can deter pedestrians from doing that when they’re on the roadway.”

Nunziata said she will seek the recommendations of city staff to determine the logistics of a potential bylaw, which she could put forward by the fall.

City staff would examine Toronto’s power to regulate such a ban by request from city council, once the province formally declines to take further action on the issue, according to Toronto Transportation Services general manager Stephen Buckley.

Nunziata said she’d also look to other jurisdictions that have implemented pedestrian safety measures for inspiration on what that bylaw motion might entail.

“We’re just trying to make the road safe for everyone and I don’t think that’s a joke,” said Nunziata, referring to some of her colleagues on council who jeered the motion or called it “silly” after it passed.

“I don’t understand because it is, in my opinion, serious. When we talk about a road safety plan, it applies to everyone, not just motorists and cyclists,” she said.

Alex Kelly, spokesperson for Parachute Canada, a national charity which works to stop preventable injuries, said education regarding the dangers of texting on roadways is a more proactive way to prevent collisions than a ban.

“We want to ensure that the injuries never happen so that we don’t have to think about a ban or something like that,” she said.

In 2014, Parachute polled teenagers and found over half had been hit or almost hit by a vehicle. Of those, one-fifth weren’t looking when they crossed the roadway and eight per cent admitted to being distracted by their phone.

“It is happening with increasing commonality and with the greater attention that people are paying to their phones, whether that’s a phone call or listening to music or texting,” Kelly said. “Especially in a really busy cityscape like Toronto, it is really important to keep your head up and be aware of your surroundings.”

Wynne said the issue is a matter of common sense and about “people understanding that they can put themselves at risk.”

The premier urged people to “use common sense and understand that of course the Pokémon Go thing is fun, but we need to pay attention when we’re moving around in the roads.”