Latest Issues

Walk Toronto writes in support of bike lane pilot project on Yonge Street

The bike lane pilot project on Yonge Street from Bloor to Davisville has made Yonge a better street for walking as well as cycling. Walk Toronto has written to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee to support the continuation of this bike lane pilot project.

Among other things, Walk Toronto’s letter notes that “By providing a buffer between car traffic and the sidewalk, the bike lanes have made walking along Yonge Street much more appealing. The sidewalks are relatively narrow for the amount of foot traffic Yonge Street receives, and having a buffer from traffic makes using those sidewalks far more pleasant.”

A survey (PDF) confirmed that 77% of respondents who were on foot felt that the walking environment had improved.

Latest Issues

Walk Toronto writes to Premier Ford in support of the Protecting Vulnerable Roads Users Act

Walk Toronto has written to Ontario Premier Doug Ford in support of Bill 54, Protecting Vulnerable Roads Users Act. The objective of
this bill is to protect all forms of road users by amending the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) to include added meaningful penalties where a vulnerable road user has been seriously injured or killed.

The letter was written by Walk Toronto steering committee member Daniella Levy-Pinto. ” I am totally blind,” she writes, “and there is a limit to what I can do to stay safe while crossing the street – my safety, and the safety of others, greatly depends on drivers following the rules and paying attention to vulnerable road users, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities.”

 

Latest Issues

Take action to support the Protecting Vulnerable Road Users law

Walk Toronto has long been part of a coalition working to implement a Vulnerable Road Users Law in Ontario.

Bill 54: Protecting Vulnerable Road Users will apply mandatory penalties to drivers who break the law and cause injuries or death to pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. Recently, it passed second reading in the provincial legislature. In the next few weeks, your MPP will vote on whether Bill 54 becomes law.

Currently, people who drive vehicles and injure or kill someone on our roads face minimal sentencing. Most deaths and injuries do not result in charges. For those who are charged, the charge is applied under the Highway Traffic Act and most convictions result in a fine only. The passing of Bill 54 would change this situation and create real consequences for drivers who cause injuries or deaths because they have broken the law.

We encourage our supporters to write to their MPP to ask them to support Bill 54: Protecting Vulnerable Road Users

Latest Issues

Walk Toronto calls for connecting trails interrupted by golf courses

The City of Toronto is reviewing how it uses its city-owned golf courses. Three of those golf courses interrupt multi-use trails through parks and ravines. Walk Toronto has written to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee to support converting parts of those courses to parkland to remove these interruptions to the trail network, while maintaining some municipal golf facilities in the remaining areas.

In particular, the staff report recommends converting some of the Dentonia Park golf course to parkland, which would enable connecting the Taylor-Massey Creek and Warden Woods trails. However, the local city councillors came out against this plan. As a result, Walk Toronto’s Dylan Reid gave a deputation at the committee meeting in support of the Dentonia Park plan.

Deputation to IEC on item IE27.6, January 11, 2022

My name is Dylan Reid, and I am here representing Walk Toronto. Walk Toronto is a volunteer advocacy group dedicated to making Toronto a great city for walking.

Walk Toronto strongly supports the proposal to turn part of the Dentonia Park golf course into a public park, while maintaining a smaller golf course. The Dentonia Park golf course currently interrupts the city’s ravine trail network, separating the Taylor-Massey Creek trail from the Warden Woods trail.

Bringing part of the golf course into the public park network will enable the city to extend the Taylor-Massey Creek trail and link it up with the Warden Woods trail, creating a continuous trail from inside Scarborough all the way to the downtown waterfront that provides a free space for recreation for the nearby communities and for all Torontonians.

We certainly support the value of golf, which encourages walking, but the proposal would maintain an affordable golf course suited to learners and casual players, and suited to an urban environment.

The pandemic has shown the value of free, accessible park land, and spaces for walking in nature, for Torontonians, especially those who live in multi-unit residences and do not have access to private yards. The proposal to convert part of Dentonia Park golf course into parkland would create more space that can be accessed for free, for a variety of recreational purposes. It would create a safe, off-road route for such recreation that links Scarborough and East York. It is particularly appropriate because the immediate community around it is identified as high on the Equity-Deserving Index and in need of additional free public facilities.

The proposal would also support the City’s new ravine strategy. The City is investing considerable time and money to establish ravine trail connections where they are missing, such as the new East Don trail. It would be a tragedy to overlook this unique opportunity to continue the work of connecting up Toronto’s ravine trails, with a much simpler project.

The proposal for turning part of Dentonia Park into public parkland is a compromise that maintains access to a City golf course while providing new free public parkland and connecting up a gap in Toronto’s ravine trail network. We urge the committee to support it.

Thank you.

Toronto Walking Strategy
Latest Issues

Walk Toronto writes to staff and politicians to request renewed Walking Strategy

Walk Toronto has written to Barbara Gray, General Manager, Transportation Services, and to Councillor Jennifer McKelvie, chair, Infrastructure and Environment Committee, to request an update and renewal of the Toronto Walking Strategy.

The Toronto Walking Strategy was adopted in 2009. At the time, it was a forward-looking vision for making Toronto a great city for walking. Over the past decade and more, many of the elements in the strategy have been implemented. However, others have fallen by the wayside. As well, many new issues and policies have been introduced that have an impact on walking in Toronto, such as “Complete Streets” and “Vision Zero.”

What’s more, in the past decade the need for action on climate change has become ever more urgent. The City’s TransformTO plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040 includes a goal of having 75% of trips of under 5 km made by walking or cycling. To achieve that goal requires a significant increase in the ambition of Toronto’s walking policies.

That is why we are calling on the City of Toronto to review, revise, and renew the Toronto Walking Strategy. It is time to bring the admirable Toronto Walking Strategy up to date with the developments of the past decade and the goals of the next decade, in order to give Toronto a true roadmap to becoming a great city for walking.

Latest Issues

Walk Toronto supports better maintenance of walkways

Walk Toronto has written to City Council to support a motion by Councillor Anthony Perruzza looking for better maintenance of public walkways.

Councillor Peruzza writes that “Residents have come to find that our public walkways are deteriorating; overgrown with vegetation, and with cracks that present serious safety and accessibility concerns.”

In Walk Toronto’s communication, Michael Black notes that “The suburban street network inside of the arterial road grid tends to be discontinuous and maze-like” and that “In order to provide people on foot with direct routes to destinations such as local schools and parks, public walkways were strategically installed.” As a result, “maintenance of public walkways is essential for active transportation to work properly. Bringing walkway levels of service to higher standards may not be glamorous — but it is a task that is much, much cheaper than maintaining expressways or subway lines.”

 

Latest Issues

Walk Toronto warns of impact of delivery robots on accessibility of sidewalks for those with disabilities

Walk Toronto has written to the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee to recommend against adopting a pilot framework to test automated micro-utility devices on sidewalks, in order to avoid creating new barriers for Ontarians with disabilities.

“We are extremely concerned about the implications for pedestrians, and particularly for those with disabilities, of deploying automated or remote-controlled MUD technology, including automated personal delivery devices, on our sidewalks. Accessibility should be the baseline in any pilot, and not an afterthought for prospective commercial partners.”

Latest Issues

Walk Toronto supports expansion of winter park accessibility

Walk Toronto has long been advocating for improving access to Toronto’s parks during winter, through more clearing of snow on park trails and through more all-season washrooms.

Walk Toronto is therefore pleased that the City of Toronto is proposing to make some modest improvements along these lines this winter. Walk Toronto has written to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee to support the “Improving Winter Access to Toronto’s Parks for 2021-22” proposal, which includes plowing more park trails and winterizing 5 additional park washrooms.

As Walk Toronto’s letter states, “these measures will have the potential to play a substantial role in improving the physical and psychological health and safety of Toronto’s residents, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is entering a second stressful winter period.”

However, Walk Toronto is concerned that, at the moment, these measures are only supported in the short term. Walk Toronto recommends that the City work to establish these improvements permanently.

Latest Issues

Walk Toronto supports development of plan for walking and cycling network for Scarborough

Walk Toronto has written to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee to support a motion by Councillor Paul Ainslie (Ward 24, Scarborough-Guildwood) calling on staff to “develop a long-term plan for [a] comprehensive pedestrian cycling network for Scarborough.”

While “Scarborough currently has the worst rate of pedestrian fatalities among Toronto’s four districts,” says the letter, ” the district “also provides opportunities for a much safer and more attractive pedestrian realm.” However,  “no change will be possible without a conscious and determined strategy to transform Scarborough into a community where walking is safe, convenient, accessible, and appealing.”

The motion was inspired by the report “The Scarborough Opportunity: A Comprehensive Walking and Cycling Network,” prepared by Prof. Andre Sorensen and five of his students at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. Walk Toronto’s Dylan Reid served as an advisor and editor for the report.

Latest Issues

Walk Toronto supports driver training requirements for vehicles-for-hire

“Vehicles for hire managed by private transportation companies like Uber have become a significant presence on Toronto’s streets. Drivers of such vehicles often work long hours and are under considerable time pressure, which can lead to dangerous situations. Given their outsized presence on Toronto’s streets, it is important that they receive additional, targeted training to contribute to the safety of Toronto’s streets, among other goals.”

Walk Toronto has written to the General Government and Licensing Committee to support a motion to ensure vehicle-for-hire driver training.