Opinion

Legislation that guides road design must prioritize safety over travel times

Editors’ Note: 120 physicians and researchers from the University of Toronto are signatories to this letter to Doug Ford.

As physicians and researchers from the University of Toronto who practice in emergency medicine, trauma, surgery, anesthesiology, intensive care, rehabilitation, psychiatry, pediatrics and family medicine, we bear witness to the trauma inflicted on pedestrians, cyclists and the drivers of motor vehicles due to traffic-related injuries – the majority of which are preventable.

In Canada during 2022, 294 pedestrians, 46 cyclists, 258 motorcyclists, 316 passengers, and 952 drivers died in collisions. There were 8,851 serious injuries from collisions, including pedestrians (15 per cent), cyclists (5 per cent), motorcyclists (13 per cent), passengers (17 per cent) and drivers (47 per cent). As of Oct. 9 this year in Toronto, 16 pedestrians, six cyclists, three motorcyclists and 10 motorists have been killed by traffic-related trauma. Every fatality is the loss of a person, someone who loved and was loved.

Among survivors, the horrific consequences of motor vehicles hitting pedestrians, cyclists and people in other vehicles are difficult to imagine. Brain injuries that fundamentally change personalities, memories and cognition; torn spinal cords that commit people to lifelong ventilatory support; scars from surgeries; post-traumatic stress disorder from both the trauma and the care required to help people survive. These patients spend weeks and months in hospital, and often never return to work or school.

The victims are not just the patients who arrive in our hospitals’ trauma bay, but the families and caregivers who experience burnout and depression. Surviving drivers involved in fatal collisions are also haunted by their experience, many suffering from life-long regret and psychological torment (Maryann Gray spent her life advocating for people who accidentally killed others). Not only can these devastating injuries destroy lives, the costs for this care, and the opportunity-costs of lost productivity, are borne by society.

Most agonizing is that the vast majority of traffic-related fatalities – pedestrian and cyclist especially – are preventable. Research from many jurisdictions, including Toronto, shows that protected bicycle lanes reduce the risk of motor vehicle trauma for pedestrians and cyclists. A recent position statement from the Canadian Paediatric Society strongly endorses protected bike lanes as a way to protect children, the most vulnerable road users. Public health data can identify high-risk areas. Reductions in speed that result from changes to road design also improve safety for motorists. Bicycle lanes benefit all road users, and it is much preferable to prevent motor vehicle trauma than to try to treat it.

For this reason, we strongly oppose the recent proposed Ontario legislation, Bill 212, that limits the ability for municipalities and cities to make their roads safer for their citizens. The legislation requires that municipalities seek Ministry of Transportation approval before installing cycling lanes that reduce the number of lanes available for motor vehicles. The legislation states that the ministry will base its decision on whether to approve a bicycle lane on “whether it would unduly diminish the orderly movement of motor vehicle traffic”, without any mention of safety for road users.

The Ministry of Transportation is responsible for serving the people of Ontario, not its motor vehicles. We must address the root causes of traffic congestion and provide options for solutions, such as improved transit connectivity and reliability, incentives for choosing alternatives to motor vehicle travel, and support for complete streets that offer safe and efficient transportation options for all people.

Legislation proposing to guide road design decisions, such as Bill 212, should explicitly place a higher priority on road safety than motor vehicle travel times. We oppose the proposed legislation as currently written and remain available should the government seek broader input from stakeholders of road traffic trauma – us and others – who aim to help improve traffic safety for everyone in Ontario.

Signed (in alphabetical order),

  1. Dr. Neill Adhikari
  2. Dr. Najma Ahmed
  3. Dr. Maha Al Mandhari
  4. Dr. K. D. Alexopoulos
  5. Dr Kavita Algu
  6. Dr. Jillian Alston
  7. Dr Rufaro Asefa
  8. Dr. Imad Awad
  9. Dr Jillian Baker
  10. Dr. Iwona Baran
  11. Dr. Michaela Beder
  12. Dr. Jackie Bellaire
  13. Dr. Suzanne Beno
  14. Dr. Blair Bigham
  15. Dr. Gary Bloch
  16. Dr. Thomas Bodley
  17. Dr. Michael Bravo
  18. Dr. Corey Bricks
  19. Dr. Laurent Brochard
  20. Dr. Dylan Bould
  21. Dr. Nikki Bozinoff
  22. Dr. Natalie Butler
  23. Dr. Alice Cavanagh
  24. Dr. Eileen Cheung
  25. Dr. Arianne Cohen
  26. Dr. Eleanore Colledge
  27. Dr. Christopher J Coutinho
  28. Dr. Matthew Cruickshank
  29. Dr. Adrienne Davis
  30. Dr. Deric Diep
  31. Dr. Michael Dinsmore
  32. Dr. Katie Dorman
  33. Dr. Naheed Dosani
  34. Dr. Dallas Duncan
  35. Dr. Gina Eom
  36. Dr. Joseph Fiorellino
  37. Dr. Rob Fowler
  38. Dr. Gabrielle Freire
  39. Dr. Amy Gajaria
  40. Dr. Ritika Goel
  41. Dr. Samantha Green
  42. Dr. Sahil Gupta
  43. Dr. Barbara Haas
  44. Dr. Mona Haider
  45. Dr. Mika Hamilton
  46. Dr. Gregory Harvey
  47. Dr. Kate Hayman
  48. Dr. Margaret Herridge
  49. Dr. Christopher Hicks
  50. Dr. Paige Homme
  51. Dr. Alex Huang
  52. Dr. Jennifer Hulme
  53. Dr. Emma Jeavons
  54. Dr. Daisy T Joo
  55. Dr. Chris Kandel
  56. Dr. Neha Kanga
  57. Dr. Liana Kaufman
  58. Dr. Michael Kahn
  59. Dr. Jonathan Kong
  60. Dr. Karim Ladha
  61. Dr. Kevin Lam
  62. Dr. Kate Lazier
  63. Dr. KitShan Lee
  64. Dr. Michael Lee
  65. Dr. Mark Levine
  66. Dr. Sean Leung
  67. Dr. Sarah Levitt
  68. Dr. Winny Li
  69. Dr. Ken Lin
  70. Dr. Martin Ma
  71. Dr. Kristin Malcolm
  72. Dr. Selene Martinez
  73. Dr. Azad Mashari
  74. Dr. Lianne McLean
  75. Dr. Marc McVey
  76. Dr. John Mikhaeil
  77. Dr. David Ng
  78. Dr. Jessica Nguyen
  79. Dr. Ahtsham Niazi
  80. Dr. Valerie Palda
  81. Dr. Judith Peranson
  82. Dr. Ian Randall
  83. Dr. Danyaal Raza
  84. Dr. Vanessa Redditt
  85. Dr. Joao Rezende Neto
  86. Dr. Andrea Rigamonti
  87. Dr. Genevieve Rochon-Terry
  88. Dr. Luciana Rodriguez Guerineau
  89. Dr. Claire Rollans
  90. Dr. Daniel Rosenfield
  91. Dr. Daniel Rosenbaum
  92. Dr. Peter Sakuls
  93. Dr. Ashwin Sankar
  94. Dr. Annia Schreiber
  95. Dr. Saadia Sediqzadah
  96. Dr. Rami Shoucri
  97. Dr. Suzanne Shoush
  98. Dr. Isaac Siemens
  99. Dr. GL Silverman
  100. Dr. Jordan Silverman
  101. Dr. Marietjie Slabber
  102. Dr. Mayson Sousa
  103. Dr. Tomislav Svoboda
  104. Dr. Michael Szpejda
  105. Brandy Tanenbaum
  106. Dr. Irene Telias
  107. Dr. Mark Tessaro
  108. Dr. Bourke Tillmann
  109. Dr. M. Tylee
  110. Dr. Zoe Von Aesch
  111. Dr. Joshua Wales
  112. Dr. Marcin Wasowicz
  113. Dr. Nena Watson
  114. Dr. Edward Xie
  115. Dr. Roland Xu
  116. Dr. Michael H. Yang
  117. Dr. Christopher Yao
  118. Dr. Christopher Yarnell
  119. Dr. Eric You-Ten
  120. Dr. Eric Yung

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9 Comments
  • Tim Scott says:

    Thank you for your letter re Bill 212 above! I would like to add the following point to the list of reasons Bill 212 must be rescinded.
    The City of Toronto’s carbon emissions by sector website, states that unless (1) 30% of cars are electric and (2) 75% of local trips (within 5km) are made by means other than driving – by walking, cycling or transit – the City will not meet it’s 2030 carbon emissions reduction target! Removal of the bicycle lanes ear marked by the Premier will not only reduce the safety of citizens attempting to comply with this critically important City of Toronto initiative but will most certainly dissuade other citizens from participating. I offer as evidence the recent killing of a young female cyclist by a large construction vehicle when she was forced out of the current bike lane on Bloor at Avenue Road. Further to these specific locations Bill 212 indicates that all bicycle infrastructure existing or proposed that restrict lanes for vehicular traffic will be subject to provincial censure. It would seem clear that the Province places little importance on the issue of carbon emissions and by meddling with the City of Toronto’s business is imposing its self serving agenda on the City’s ability to meet these critical targets! All other provincial municipalities should take note! I’m left to believe that the Conservative Government of Ontario under Premier Doug Ford doesn’t believe in or care about Climate Change and it’s impact. This is a shocking rupture in the trust citizens must have with their elected government!

  • Irene says:

    We need to rethink cycling in congested downtown traffic and during peak hours. I suggest cyclists who are using certain routes between certain hours of the day be required to display a small licence plate, and pass “drivers” test, as is required for motorists. (e.g. 7 AM to 7 PM on downtown routes) Fair us fair. There needs to be accountability by cyclists for dangerous habits, insufficient safety equipment, and poor examples ruining the experience for all. Esr=tablish rules for cyclists using routes without cycle lanes.
    Some of my experiences:
    1)I have been hit by a cyclist while crossing the street at the light and Queen and Spadina. Yes, I was following the traffick signals, the cyclist was not. She did not apologize, even though my shin was bleeding, but looked at me with the most angry agressive look, got on her bike and sped off without a word. My injury could have been worse, but I was literally caught in mid-fall by another pedestrian crossing at the same time. There were many pedestrians and she just proceeded to drive into the group of people.
    2) while driving on Queen West, a cyclist doing tricks (wheelies) on the sidewalk showing off to a group of friends, wen flying in the air-hits my car damaging not only the windshield but 3 panels of the car body, making it irreperable, and a total loss according to insurance. Due to slamming in the breaks, I have had to have physiotherapy etc, for bruised ribs (seatbelt injury) , injured hands, neck, foot, leg etc. The cyclist was not at all held accountable, even though a police officer happened to witness the event, being present to monitor streetcar track construction. This happened 4 days before my sons wedding-I could barely have one dance with my son, plus no car. The cyclist was not at all held responsible.
    Shall I go on?
    So…..My thoughts: Drivers test, licence plates mandatory for cyclists at certain times and routes- violations enforcible by traffic ticket issuance by police &/or reported by other cyclists, car drivers and pedestrians.

  • Don says:

    Just wondering who would be responsible if an accident occurred at a spot where a safety barrier was taken out?

  • Mike Fraumeni says:

    Great post. But that being said, where I worked in the past some highly educated people PhDs for pete sakes making very excellent money, were riding their bikes 20 km to work each day, in the winter with bad road conditons and one had a bad accident as such affecting his mobility for life. So while legislation is important, common sense is equally important. Stupidity is stupidity, PhD or elementary school student.

    • Dawn Crandell says:

      I question your assumptions in the above. 1) Only poor people ride bikes. 2) Riding bikes 20 km to work is somehow crazy. 3) Riding in the winter is inherently unsafe. Riding a bike is a transportation choice, not always dictated by dollars. Some are motivated by convenience, health and/or environmental concerns. 2) Riding 20 km to work is odd. Why? It takes less than an hour, less than many people spend in a car. Why is this questionable? 3)Winter roads are inherently dangerous for cyclists. The Danish population would disagree. Cycling in winter could be safe if we chose to make it safe. Provide separated bike lanes, keep them clear. A bicycle tipping over should not collide with a car. Winter roads are unsafe for motor vehicles too, let’s not forget. My mother in law was killed on a blizzardy winter road, in a car. I have spun out on an icy highway, in a car. If I spin out on my bike, I won’t kill anyone else and probably won’t die.

  • Lisa Vanlint says:

    I think many more physicians and researchers would want to add their name to this. How can they do so?

  • Linda Rothman says:

    All perfectly said – any way to add more signatures to this (as an academic researcher?)

  • Piotr Sepski says:

    All well but if the main road on the campus of UofT has a pedestrian crossing that asks pedestrians to wait for brake in traffic than things are not well.

  • Adam says:

    Information that the Ontario Government needs to hear and hopefully takes seriously.

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