Former Toronto Planning Director Jennifer Keesmaat is responding to rising pedestrian and bike fatalities in the "Vision Zero" city with a series of calls for action.
Former Toronto Planning Director Jennifer Keesmaat has been blasting Toronto's approach to traffic safety through a variety of media channels, provoking some backlash.
First, Keesmaat told Toronto Star reporters David Rider and Samantha Beattie that a "state of emergency" was necessary to treat the city's traffic fatalities as a high priority for investment in the public realm.
The Star has completed its own analysis of traffic fatalities in the city, producing a discrepancy with Toronto Police Department figures, because "Toronto police traffic fatality figures are lower because they do not include those on private property or 400-series highways in Toronto," according to the article. The Star counts 41 pedestrian deaths in 2017, with 18 so far this year. The Star also counts four cyclist fatalities so far this year.
Keesmaat followed up those statements by writing an opinion piece for The Guardian. There, Keesmaat repeats the language about a state of emergency and questions the wisdom of a century of designing urban areas to suit quick travel in cars.
Two fundamentally contradictory visions are bumping up against each other. In the old model, if driving is the key to freedom, then cyclists and pedestrians need to get out of the way. They are audacious, misplaced and – even worse – entitled. Who and what are streets for, anyway? They are places to get through, and fast. Lowering speed limits to ensure pedestrians are safe makes no sense.
In the new model, however, streets aren’t just for getting through – they are places in their own right, designed for people, commerce, lingering and life. It’s the people, the human activity, that should come first. Cycling isn’t just for radicals and recreation, and lower speed limits make sense: they protect and enhance quality of city life...
Keesmaat's round of media coverage provoked a response from the Editorial Board of the Toronto Sun, which accuses Keesmaat of reigniting the "War on Cars," and failing to grasp the reality of transportation for the majority of Toronto residents.
The Toronto Star is providing regular traffic safety coverage with its "Deadly Streets" series.
FULL STORY: ‘It’s time to declare a state of emergency’: Anger, calls for change follow deaths on Toronto streets
'Vision Zero 2.0' Launched When Vision Zero 1.0 Didn't Save Any Lives
Toronto has gone back to the drawing board for more effective strategies and tactics for reducing traffic fatalities after its first attempt failed to produce any measurable results.
Seniors Account for 32% of Traffic Deaths in the Bay Area
Road safety interventions would help protect seniors and other vulnerable groups from traffic violence.
San Francisco Cut Traffic Deaths Almost in Half in 2025
The city credits its Vision Zero strategy and new traffic cameras for reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on its roads.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association