Road safety activists to hold ‘die-in’ at city hall
Monday’s event will commemorate those who have died on Toronto’s streets — including 16 so far this year — and push for changes to boost road safety.

TheStar.com
March 25, 2018
Tamar Harris

Safe street activists outraged by the number of deaths on Toronto’s streets will stage a “die-in” Monday evening at Nathan Phillips Square in solidarity with victims of road violence and in support of road safety.

The 6 p.m. event at the Peace Garden is organized by Friends and Families for Safe Streets, a Toronto-based advocacy organization made up of people who have experienced, or have been bereaved by, road violence.

“We’re outraged at the incredible number of people who have been killed on our roads,” said Jessica Spieker, organizer of the die-in and a member of the group.

Spieker said 2018 has been “extremely bad” for traffic deaths, with 16 people killed on the roads since Jan. 1.

“Which is more than one a week,” Spieker noted. “Which is truly unacceptable and shocking and very, very sad.”

In 2015, Spieker was riding her bike on Bathurst St. near Shallmar Blvd. and was T-boned by a driver turning left. Her spine was broken and she sustained a moderate traumatic brain injury.

“I can walk and talk,” Spieker said Sunday, almost three years after the crash. But she still experiences pain, and said she notices the “lasting effects” of the brain injury daily.

“I also just have scars on my body that I see every day, that are a pretty constant reminder of how dangerous our streets are,” Spieker said.

On Monday, city council will consider Reimagining Yonge, a North York reconstruction project. The die-in will be held the same day, to “highlight” the city council vote, Spieker said.

According to the study, Yonge St. between Sheppard and Finch Aves. “has numerous challenges including boulevards that have deteriorated to such a degree that full reconstruction is necessary, inconsistent sidewalk widths and treatment of the public realm, a lack of pedestrian crossings and medians, and a lack of dedicated cycling facilities as well as concerns over traffic movement and pedestrian safety.”

A preliminary redesign that included bike lanes, a landscaped centre median, enhanced pedestrian crossings and four lanes of traffic (reduced from six) in some areas was dubbed “Transform Yonge.”

Following further analysis and consultations with local businesses, a second option called “Enhance Yonge and Transform Beecroft” emerged. The second option would move the dedicated bike lanes one block away to Beecroft Rd., maintain current traffic capacity in North York Centre and address repairs on Yonge St.

The public works and infrastructure committee has recommended city council approve the more expensive “Enhance Yonge and Transform Beecroft” option, “including streetscape and safety improvements, sidewalk widening, and six lanes of traffic on Yonge St., along with the provision of cycle tracks on Beecroft Rd.,” according to the report.

Spieker is in support of “Transform Yonge,” which she calls a “safer road infrastructure design” that is in line with the city’s Vision Zero road safety plan.

Spieker will lead Monday’s die-in, and will participate in the Ghost Bike Ride held afterward, with participants cycling 22 kilometres from downtown to Don Mills.

“I want what happened to me to just never happen again, to anybody,” Spieker said.