Vaughan residents want drivers to change behaviour after deadly traffic accidents

'Am honestly terrified trying to cross the street,' says father of 5 children

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 14, 2021
Dina Al-Shibeeb

On Sept. 1, days before the official opening of schools in York Region, a 33-year-old woman driving an SUV hit and killed Nikita Belykh, a 10-year-old girl. Belykh was riding her bicycle on Pleasant Ridge Avenue outside the Thornhill Community Centre.

Belykh’s death came more than three months after Vaughan parents lost a son, Jax, 4, and daughter, Anaya, 10, when they were hit in their own driveway by a vehicle driven by a Richmond Hill teen.

Following these tragic incidents, changing the behaviour of drivers is increasingly becoming a high demand from local residents.

These tragedies galvanized Vaughan resident Dave Euser into action.

Euser, a father of five, shared with the Vaughan Citizen an email correspondence with the city dating back to 2014, when he asked for signage changes at the roundabout near his home in the vicinity of Knightshade Drive and Autumn Hill. He also suggested introducing speed bumps.

Euser made the request a year after moving into his new Vaughan home. At the time, the city staff replied back to him, stating their preliminary review shows the intersection has a traffic circle, and that the “proper traffic control is correct under yield control signs currently installed.”

Years passed by, but cars continued speeding and the roundabout stayed as it is, Euser said.

“Since the weather has gotten better, I find myself crossing the intersection regularly, with my kids, and am honestly terrified trying to cross the street,” he said.

“The traffic either east or west on Autumn Hill often does not stop or even slow down for pedestrian traffic.”

To Euser, the ultimate solution is police presence to hold people accountable.

“I've never seen a behaviour change, and I don't see a regular sort of police presence, enforcing speed limit and safe driving practices in the neighbourhood,” said Euser, who has logged speeding complaints at York Regional Police’s online portal.

In the neighbourhood where Belykh lived, there are stop signs and wide roads, and no congestion even when schools are back.

“Everyone needs to be very careful. We need to stop at the stop sign,” said Dharmistha Kaul, a Vaughan resident who lives in a corner home, right opposite the Thornhill Community Centre. From her porch, one can see the flowers and the teddy bears placed in Belykh’s memory.

Kaul, who described her neighbourhood as beautiful and organized, said she has seen cars not stopping at the stop signs both prior to and after the incident.

Kaul believes there is a need for more “safety messages.”

“Laws are there. As a resident, I think we all should come together to try to make society safer.”

Euser suggested speed cameras be placed and moved around to flag violators.

“It's easy to get into that kind of behaviour when there are no consequences,” said Euser.

On Aug. 6, the city reduced speed limits from 50 to 40 kilometres per hour in school zones to ensure full safety after the May incident. The decision also comes after making 30 km/h speed limits for public laneways and setting 40 km/h for neighbourhood areas.

“Honestly I don't know if that would make a difference because most of the traffic that I see right by my house is probably doing 60 or 70 km/h,” said Euser.

Shai Tobias, who lived on Pleasant Ridge Avenue for the past 15 years, wonders if young people are behind the fast driving, but Euser does not agree.

“I see younger people, older mothers (and) fathers. It doesn't matter,” said Euser, who recalled a fatality one block south of Pleasant Ridge Avenue years ago with the culprit being a woman in her 70s.