City policies criticized for inability to affect change
In June of 2019, Mayor John Tory announced Vision Zero 2.0, an updated version of the city’s three-year-old plan that has, so far, failed to reduce the rate of traffic-related incidents in Toronto.
Despite Vision Zero 2.0, traffic-related incidents have not gone down. In 2019, 42 pedestrians died on Toronto’s streets, according to a report from the Toronto Star. The deadly year has left advocates, citizens, and politicians furious at the city’s inaction, with many advocates calling the new initiative too timid.
Vision Zero
Vision Zero is a concept that did not originate in Toronto—it is a set of programs and policies that aim to reduce a municipality’s pedestrian deaths to zero. Cities around the world, such as New York and Edmonton, have had success implementing Vision Zero policies.
The idea is to transform the perception of pedestrian deaths; they should be seen as preventable incidents, not accidents.
Toronto and pedestrian deaths
Policies such as enforcing lower speed limits are sure to reduce pedestrian deaths, but many advocates are arguing that a culture shift must occur in the city. They point to the disproportionate amount of TTC fare evasion tickets that have been issued in 2019, compared to the amount of speeding tickets issued. The city seems to care more about criminalizing fare evasion than punishing those who speed.
Critics of Toronto’s approach to Vision Zero have argued that there have not been enough resources dedicated to reducing pedestrian deaths. On January 10, the city announced that they would be spending 3 percent of the total $5 billion on transportation over the next decade on Vision Zero initiatives.
