Vaughan undertaking traffic study at site where 2 children died

City urging residents to take a short survey

Yorkregion.com
Dec. 20, 2021
Dina Al-Shibeeb

Vaughan is asking residents to take a survey as it undertakes a traffic and speed study for the Athabasca Drive site where two children died in May when they were struck by a driver in their driveway.

The vehicle was allegedly being driven at 102 km/h. A teen has been charged.

To help inform the traffic and speed mitigation options for this area, the city invites residents to take a 10-minute survey online at vaughan.ca/TrafficSpeedStudy. It's open until Jan. 14.

The city explained this study was created in response to “resident concerns about parking, road safety and speeding.”

“It will investigate these issues and recommend a strategy to move forward, with the final report anticipated to be completed in 2022,” it said. “Any recommended improvements will be considered a pilot project that could potentially benefit other subdivisions in the future.”

Following the tragic incident, another child was struck by a vehicle in Thornhill, shaking the city which is now increasingly questioning its drivers and the safety measures governing them.

The city has recently launched a new campaign called #SlowDownVaughan, which is part of its speed limit policy that allows Vaughan residents to post ”slow down” signs on their lawns.

Following these two incidents, Vaughan reduced its speed limits from 50 kilometres per hour to 30 km/h on all public laneways.

The city also decreased its speed limits from 50 km/h to 40 km/h in school zones.