With the support of Walk Toronto, I have created a map of all serious injuries and deaths suffered by pedestrians and cyclists in motor vehicle collisions within the City of Toronto, between September 15, 2023 and September 15, 2026. This data comes from the City of Toronto’s open data portal, and includes all collisions on city streets and roadways, including sidewalks and paths. (It does not include crash data on provincial highways or on private property.)
A Vision Zero philosophy, adopted by the City of Toronto, is based on the premise that any serious traffic injury or death is preventable, and not inevitable. Vision Zero recognizes that humans make mistakes, and the road network should be designed to mitigate the results of those errors. The goal of any Vision Zero program should be no deaths or injuries on our streets. With over 500 pedestrians and cyclists seriously injured or killed over a three year period (including 83 deaths), Toronto has a long way to go.
For now, this map remains a work in progress, but is now at a point where it’s ready to be shared for discussion and for feedback. Please feel free to contact me with your suggestions.
The eastern intersection of Niagara Drive and Sheridan Street in Oshawa, where the pedestrians were struck
On Wednesday, October 21, around 9:20 AM, the driver of a Volvo crossover SUV was turning left from Niagara Drive to Sheridan Street in Oshawa. The driver, a 62-year-old woman, struck a daycare worker and five young children who were crossing Sheridan Street at the intersection. A two-year-old was rushed to Sick Kids hospital in life-threatening condition while the adult and another child were sent to a local hospital with serious injuries.
This collision occurred in a residential neighbourhood in suburban North Oshawa, near the Durham College/Ontario Tech University campus, the sort of neighbourhood families move into because of amenities like parks and playgrounds, large single-family houses, and perceived safety. There is absolutely no excuse for a tragedy such as this one, though the Durham Regional Police press release points out that Niagara Drive, a residential side street, “has no traffic control.” However, the pedestrians had the right-of-way, crossing from north to south in an unmarked crosswalk, with traffic on Sheridan and Ryerson facing stop signs.
On Tuesday October 27, I paid a visit to Niagara Drive to see the area for myself.
Niagara Drive is a winding, crescent-shaped street off of Simcoe Street, Oshawa’s main north-south road. All traffic entering or exiting the neighbourhood must exit at one of the two intersections of Niagara and Simcoe, so Niagara is not used as a through route. Sheridan Street is a shorter roadway that meets Niagara Drive twice; opposite Ryerson Crescent on the west side and opposite Canadore Crescent on the east side. (All the streets in the neighbourhood were named for Canadian colleges and universities, likely inspired by the nearby campus.) The collision occurred at the westerly intersection.
There are no painted stop bars, crosswalks, or any visual cues for drivers to watch for pedestrians at the intersection. Just a small stop sign. Note the wide turn radii at the corners.
The entire neighbourhood is designated as a maximum 40 km/h zone, with regular signage along Niagara Street. However, apart from speed limit signs and one automated speed radar monitor, there has been no effort made to slow down drivers along Niagara Drive, even though there are multiple parks and trails in the area.
Pickup driver facing a “your speed” radar sign on Niagara Drive, going 50 km/h in a signed 40 km/h zone
Not one intersection on Niagara Drive is controlled by all-way stop signs, nor are there any other speed control measures, such as speed bumps/speed humps, medians, or curb bump-outs. There is no designated crosswalk for pedestrians to access Niagara Park, which features a playground, shade structure, and a soccer field. Even though parking is restricted (because of the nearby university/college campus), the roadway is wide with no lane markings. Everything about the road design encourages driving well beyond the 40 km/h limit with no need to slow down or stop at any point.
Playground and shade structure at Niagara Park
Even the park in the middle of the neighbourhood is designed for drivers. Though there’s no crosswalk for nearby residents to access the playground, there is a parking lot, an unusual feature for a local park.
Niagara Park parking lot
Though the driver should have seen the children crossing at the intersection, there was no thought by traffic engineers whatsoever to the safety of vulnerable road users on Niagara Drive. Sadly, this is just too typical of North American suburbs, where the streets, parks, and neighbourhoods were designed almost exclusively around the private automobile. In some municipalities, retrofits such as speed humps and all-way stops were later added, but this area is devoid of even those low-cost interventions.
This collision was no accident. The driver failed to yield to pedestrians crossing an intersection with the right of way, and did not see the adult and several young children. The road was designed for fast speeds, despite serving a quiet residential area. Finally, not even the most basic safety interventions were made to prevent tragedies such as this.
Bloor Street West, near Islington Avenue, October 14 2026 as dozens of police officers confront cyclists blocking workers from removing the cycling lane
In the so-called “War on the Car,” it feels like the provincial government is the one leading the charge.
In the last few years, the Ontario PC government, led by Doug Ford, has pulled out all the Stops (pun intended) in favouring motorists. Though the province is funding major transit expansion in the Greater Toronto Area, it has also accelerated the construction of new highways in the suburban “905 Belt” including the Bradford Bypass (Highway 425) and Highway 413 between Milton and Vaughan. It eliminated tolls on the provincially-owned sections of Highway 407 in Durham Region. The province also raised most provincial freeway speed limits to 110 kilometres per hour, even on congested sections of Highway 401 in Toronto. It eliminated the automobile licence plate renewal fee, and reduced fuel taxes soon after getting elected. Premier Ford has also pushed for a tunnel under Highway 401 that will never get built, but will waste time and resources for a study.
Along with these pro-driver policy decisions, the Ford government has struck back against local measures that were designed to promote walking and cycling and protect road users — especially pedestrians and cyclists — from injury and death.
In 2025, the province, once again weaponizing its constitutional authority to override municipalities, forced the removal of speed enforcement cameras. Traffic speeds, predictably, went up. In 2024, the government used its majority to pass Bill 212, the “Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act” which prohibits municipalities from installing cycling infrastructure that would take away from general traffic lanes without ministerial approval. The legislation also gave the government authority to override Toronto City Council decisions, by removing city-installed cycling lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue/Queen’s Park Circle. All three of these routes have subways underneath and parallel other multilane routes such as Jarvis Street/Mount Pleasant Road and the Gardiner Expressway. In 2025, Bill 212 was followed by Bill 60, the “Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act” which outright banned the removal of traffic lanes for bike lanes (or any other prescribed purpose).
It didn’t matter that the municipalities are responsible for their own streets. It didn’t matter that the people of Toronto elected their councils with the mandate to make these local decisions. It didn’t matter that experts and even senior civil servants in the Ministry of Transportation pushed back, as the Toronto Star reports. And it didn’t matter that a majority of Toronto voters rejected the PC government, even tossing out a PC MPP in Etobicoke-Lakeshore in the Winter 2025 snap election.
Several suburban municipalities have used the province’s direction as an excuse to remove some of their cycling infrastructure. The enactment of Bill 60 was cited in the resolution by Brampton City Council earlier this year to remove bike lanes on Charolais Boulevard in the city’s southwest, restoring four driving lanes on a street that never needed them.
Bike lanes on suburban collector roads including Howden Boulevard in Brampton and Aquitaine Avenue in Mississauga (pictured) have also disappearedin 2025-2026. Photo taken on a weekday afternoon.
Make no mistake, this is a culture war, manufactured to pit cyclists that the Ford Brothers have long vilified versus the Ford Nation base of middle class suburbanites and affluent voters. Not only is it a convenient distraction from education scandals, allegations of corruption, and a teetering health system, it’s a great fundraising tool. The PCs don’t need their supporters to chip in to fight the war for the car — they’ll do it with or without your $25 donation — but they’ll sure take your money.
😔 The transportation minister assures me I’m next though
After winning an appeal in August of a lower court decision that had blocked the removal of lanes (in that earlier decision, the judge found that the province had no evidence that cycling infrastructure causes congestion), Ford’s government wasted no time dismantling a 1.1 km section of the Bloor Street bike lanes in Etobicoke, between Clissold Road (just west of Islington) and Royal York Road. Though Bloor Street is a municipal road, the province took it upon itself to begin removal work, overriding the city.
On this section of Bloor, the City of Toronto installed short concrete curbs augmented with plastic flexiposts to separate the bike lanes from parked cars and general traffic, often an interim measure before major road construction allows for more permanent infrastructure. This was a relatively easy bike lane to remove, at least without active opposition from cyclists and safe street activists.
Workers removing flexiposts from small concrete curbs that would later be removed, Wednesday October 14
Work was scheduled to begin the evening of Tuesday, October 13, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. The work was originally intended to only occur after 6PM, to minimize effects on traffic. But after hundreds showed up that evening to block removal work, it was quickly rescheduled for the next day, with work slated to begin by 11 AM. Still, several dozen showed up, and after blocking the work yet again, dozens of police from all over the city came out to put an end to that. The resistance was peaceful, and there was just one arrest of a cyclist refusing to get on the sidewalk that day (a second was arrested in the evening).
Near Etobicoke and Islington on Wednesday morning, before police arrived
One also noticed that the untendered contractor — Verdi Alliance — was not proud of its work on behalf of the province. It covered up the logos on its vehicles with paperboard and duct tape. Logos on its temporary conditions road signage (the orange signs in construction areas) were also covered in tape. One could feel some sympathy for the workers on site, who faced several days of being yelled at, as they are usually assigned for legitimate road work, perhaps installing cycling infrastructure elsewhere.
Workers placing a “bike lane closed” sign on Bloor Street near Roya York with the Verdi Alliance logo at top right taped overVerdi Alliance truck at Bloor and Royal York with logos covered up on Thursday, October 15
To me, the piles of removed concrete curbs in the abandoned bike lane made me think of the piles of old wooden ties from disused railways being ripped up. I had a similar feeling of melancholy when I saw railways like the Orangeville-Brampton line disappear.
Piled concrete curbs and metal anchors in the Bloor Street bike lane in Etobicoke made me thing of railway ties and spikes as an abandoned railway is torn upThe Orangeville-Brampton Railway being torn up in early 2022
While visiting the Kingsway neighbourhood, I could not help but notice how affluent and conservative the Bloor-Royal York area is. In the last weeks of a municipal election, Brad Bradford’s signs dominated over incumbent Olivia Chow’s on large residential lawns. There were many luxury SUVs, such as BMWs, Porsches, and Land Rovers, being driven or parked on the side streets. Teenagers exiting Royal York Station wore the uniforms of prominent Rosedale and Forest Hill private schools. Cycling infrastructure was probably always going to be a hard sell here, where the older urban city meets the postwar suburbs.
Off of Bloor Street, most residential streets are made of large houses on roadways without sidewalks. Of the election signs I saw, most were for right-wing mayoral candidate Brad Bradford and council candidate Ted Opitz, who previously represented the neighbouring riding as a Conservative MP.
Pedestrians walk north on Brentwood Road, a residential side street without sidewalks, despite a nearby Toronto Public Library branch.
But my sadness and anger became a white hot rage after crossing in a marked crosswalk at Bloor and Brentwood: I was nearly nailed by a driver in a Land Rover SUV who violated the HTA by failing to stop at the stop sign and solid stop line protecting the crosswalk and bike lane. This turned out to be a very common occurrence at this intersection, as I sat on a bench and recorded drivers blowing through.
Clearly, drivers here do not care about the safety of anyone else. And the province is catering to them above all others. If pedestrians or cyclists are injured or killed by aggressive, distracted, or speeding motorists, that’s just the cost of living in Doug Ford’s Toronto.
Most drivers at Brentwood Street at Bloor Street West don’t stop at the stop line and roll through the crosswalk
Correction: I amended the information about Bills 60 and 212 to be more accurate.
On Sunday, September 27, I took the GO train to Hamilton with my bike to experience Open Streets Hamilton, an annual event that shuts down just over three kilometres of King Street East between John Street and Gage Street from 10AM to 4PM. An official program of the City of Hamilton, pedestrians and cyclists get to enjoy a car-free experience, with five activation hubs, with live music, play spaces, and booths set up by city-affiliated agencies like the Hamilton Street Railway and Hamilton Public Library as well as local non-profit and activist organizations. Businesses along King Street were welcomed to take their business outside with displays and tables for passers-by to browse.
The Hamilton Public Library’s bookmobile near King and ShermanDrum band at King and Victoria
Hamilton’s Open Streets was a delight. A pleasant, sunny day certainly helped, but it was nice to see so many people sharing the space, all at a gentle pace. Cyclists taking advantage of the car-free King Street were respectful of pedestrians having the whole right-of-way and especially careful around the five hubs. Cyclists looking for a faster route could easily go just two blocks north to Cannon Street, which has a continuous two-way cycletrack as far east as Sherman Avenue.
King Street narrows between John and Wellington Streets through the tree-lined International Village BIA
By extending Open Streets into the later afternoon, Hamilton helped to encourage businesses to participate and to get a wide variety of participants through the day. Though Open Streets in Toronto was supported by the Downtown Yonge BIA, there was limited commercial activity along the routes, likely due to the short hours.
King at Barnesdale, towards the east end of the Open Streets. Note the café on the block put out seating and shade canopies.
In 2026, Toronto only had two blocks of temporary pedestrian activation — Church Street between Alexander and Wellesley Streets in the Village. Happily, that experiment ran for over six weeks, and restaurants and bars took advantage of the extra space. It worked well, despite nearby road construction and concerns about safety and traffic congestion. But it was just a taste of what Toronto can and should do.
Hamilton shows that open streets are popular and Toronto needs to bring them back. Hopefully the mayor and council elected later this month will have the courage and ambition to get Torontonians outside and on the streets.
Pedestrians and cyclists enjoying a sunny Sunday morning in St. John’s
In late June of this year, my spouse and I had the chance to visit St. John’s, along with a few other destinations in Eastern Newfoundland and Saint Pierre, France. I highly recommend the visit, though even late June can be a bit cool and wet there.
During our last two days, several blocks — about 700 metres — of Water Street, the main commercial street in St. John’s, was closed to all motor vehicles, and remains so until September 7, Labour Day. This is an annual event, supported by downtown businesses, and is one of the positive legacies of the social distancing era of 2020-2021.
Though fenced-off restaurant patios spill on to Water Street, there are plenty of public spaces to sit, too
This is much less a street festival (though there are plenty of organized events) and more of an open street initiative. Though restaurants’ patios spill out into the street, there are plenty of public picnic tables set up for anyone to use, both in sunny and shaded areas. There are several portable toilets, complete with adjacent hand-washing sinks, which provide relief without having to pay to use a washroom.
Portable washrooms, hand-washing station, and portable bike parking on Water Street
Pedestrians and pedal cyclists are welcomed, though cyclists are instructed to go at a slow speed, and e-bikes passing through must have their power assist off.
Sign explaining e-bike policy for the Downtown Pedestrian Mall
Of course, there are security guards and gates set up to keep motorists out, apart from emergency vehicles and local deliveries. But I did not notice any police cars stationed at any of the intersecting streets, and the few RNC officers I saw were on general foot patrol. Though several Metrobus routes normally serve Water Street, these are diverted one block away to Harbour Drive.
Security minding traffic gates at Water and Adelaide Streets, the southern end of the pedestrian mall
Though St. John’s is a much smaller city than Toronto (its metro area is less than 4% the size of Toronto’s CMA), it is also much more car-dependent, with only a basic bus transit system, and very little cycling infrastructure. Yet, they are able to pull this off for ten weeks a year, on an annual basis. The last Open Streets event in Toronto was in 2022, and those were only held two Sundays of the year. Yes, there are wildly successful street festivals, such as Taste of the Danforth, which just had its record-breaking comeback, but they aren’t the same as they are rammed with crowds, and those only take place over two or three days.
Moveable car traps and metal barricades block Church Street, looking north at Maitland
One key noticeable difference are the harder barriers to prevent motor vehicles from entering. Yellow wheel traps are lined up next to metal barricades, decorated with colourful banners. Though understandable given recent history in Toronto and Vancouver with vehicular attacks on sidewalks and a street festival, they sadly act to fence in what should be an open street and pedestrians must enter on the sidewalks. Unlike St. John’s, cycling is prohibited as well.
Shaded by branded patio umbrellas, the picnic tables and Muskoka chairs on the left are open to anyone
Still, it’s a great taste of what Toronto should have more of. As on Water Street, there are both private patio spaces on the street as well as public chairs and benches, as well as extra waste bins, though no public toilets. It’s also very well used, especially later in the day. The Church-Wellesley Village is the cultural and commercial centre for Toronto’s 2SLGBTQ+ communities, as well as being in the centre of a very densely-populated area with limited open space.
It is also oddly quiet, despite the vibrancy. That’s because there are no cars, which are a major source of urban noise pollution. The car-free environment also makes sitting on a curbside patio much more enjoyable, without the noise and smells of passing motorists. How can anyone object?
Later in the afternoon, Church Street was busier with pedestrians
It might be too much to ask for Montreal-style open street corridors, but Toronto should at least aspire to more, long-term open street set-ups like Water Street and Church Street. Kensington Market would be the perfect place to start. Even on our busy east-west streetcar routes on corridors such as Gerrard Street East or Queen Street West, with a bit of imagination and can-do spirit, we can accommodate those as well.
With adding long-term implementations, we will need to rethink the costs of policing and security, which are currently a major barrier to providing these spaces in Toronto. In Montreal, security staffing is minimal on open streets such as Ave. Mont-Royal. The needs of policing and securing a regular pedestrianized area are quite different than ensuring safety at a crowded street festival.
Ave. Mont-Royal, where security measures are minimal on the summer open street
Such crowd-pleasing, neighbourhood-building actions as Open Streets should be on any serious mayor or council candidate’s policy platform in the upcoming municipal election.
A Simcoe County Linx bus with my bicycle on the rack at Bradford GO Station
Within Southern Ontario, there are some excellent places to go for a bike ride, without needing a car to hit the trails or quiet country roads. GO Transit’s bus and rail network extends all the way to places like Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Peterborough, Brantford, and Kitchener, where great cycling routes can be found. One can make a one-way trip and get a bus or train back, and there are routes of many possible lengths, levels of difficulty, and comfort levels.
A while back, I wrote about a ride between Georgetown and Newmarket following the Caledon Trailway from Terra Cotta to Tottenham, then following country roads east to the Nokiidaa Trail between Holland Landing and Newmarket. A decade later, I decided to try to finish riding the former CN Beeton Subdivision to Barrie’s waterfront.
Between Tottenham and Beeton, the Allandale Sub still sees train service
As the section of the former CN branch line between Tottenham — where I was on a previous ride — and Beeton remains in use by the South Simcoe Railway steam train operation, I started the ride in Beeton, at the north end of the remaining track. Beeton is also a stop on Simcoe County Linx’s Route 5 between Bradford GO Station and Alliston, which runs every hour during weekday daytime hours, making it an easy place to get to without a car.
Downtown Beeton, with a Simcoe County Linx bus stop in the foreground
At Beeton, the SSR track comes to an end and the rail trail picks back up for a short bit. Unfortunately, there is no easy, safe cycling connection between Tottenham and Beeton; County Road 10 is a busy road without paved shoulders, and 4th Line, which leads east from Tottenham towards a quieter alternative route, is narrow, poorly maintained, and hilly, unsuitable for a casual cyclist or walker. Hence, the decision to skip the Tottenham-Beeton section.
The SSR crossing in Beeton
From Beeton’s Main Street, either Dayfoot or Centre Street provide quiet, low-traffic routes north to Line 9 (Lily Street) to a section of trail as far as Line 10. From there, pedestrians and cyclists must detour to 10th Side Road for 1.5 kilometres at Allimil due to a missing bridge over a small stream and a potato processing plant partly on the old right of way. Allimil was also once known as Beeton Junction as this was where a branch line split off the busier Hamilton-Allandale route to serve Alliston, Creemore, and Collingwood. That other branch line’s right-of-way, unfortunately, was not preserved.
10th Sideroad is relatively busy, and there are no paved shoulders, but the traffic I encountered was generally respectful. That said, I was grateful to get back on the trail.
10th Sideroad, New Tecumseth, where pedestrians and cyclists using the rail trail must divert north of BeetonRe-entering the Trans-Canada Trail at 10th Sideroad. The quality of the ride between here and Innisfil was quite good.Note the Trans Canada Trail marker on the p-gate.
From this point as far as 5th Sideroad in Innisfil (and just south of Barrie), the trail is in great shape, with a consistent smooth gravel surface. The section between Allimil and Cookstown only opened less than a decade ago; where one property owner on Line 13 took over the old railbed, the trail properly detours around the farm without any hassle. A replacement bridge over Cookstown Creek is accompanied by photographs of the old wooden bridge.
A new rail trail bridge installed in 2021. Nearby, an interpretive plaque displays images of the former structure this replaced.
Southern Simcoe County is famous for vegetable production, including the Holland Marsh and the potato fields of New Tecumseh, Adjala-Tosorontio, and West Gwillimbury. The trail runs right through these lands, revealing how Ontarians get much of their food. Along the route, I spotted several dozen farm workers sporting nón lá to protect themselves from the sun while tending to leafy vegetables.
Farm workers tending to vegetables near the rail trailWhy did the turkey cross the trail?
At Cookstown and at Thornton, signalized active transportation crossings allow pedestrians and cyclists to easily get across busy roadways. Benches and shade are plentiful, and there were a few pleasant surprises as well. If the trip from Beeton to Barrie had only the short diversion at Allimil, this would be an easy 40-45 kilometre ride. But then I encountered a very stressful ride into Barrie itself.
Northeast of Thornton towards Barrie, where old railway telegraph poles betray the trail’s former use
At 10th Sideroad, near the Georgian Downs Racetrack and Casino, the trail came to a sudden end, with no direction on how to continue onwards. The trailhead features a large parking lot, which makes it clear what type of recreational trail user is expected here.
5th Side Road in Innisfil, at the end of the Cookstown-Thornton trail, part of the Trans Canada Trail
5th Side Road is a terribly busy traffic corridor as it parallels nearby Highway 400 and turns into Veterans Drive as it crosses into the City of Barrie. It’s a two lane road, with rough gravel shoulders, which means either dealing with heavy traffic while taking the lane (not recommended), riding in the grit, or walking the bike. At one point, I had to opt for the latter, coming up a hill on the Veterans Drive section in Barrie. The video below shows the conditions on this portion.
Video showing conditions on 5th Side Road in Innisfil and Veterans Drive in Barrie, part of the signed Trans Canada Trail
Ironically, 5th Side Road and Veterans Drive are part of the designated Trans Canada Trail, along with the Caledon Trailway (along with the Tottenham extension) and the Beeton-Innisfil route. I spotted several TCT signs along 5th Side Road and Veterans Drive despite the dangerous conditions present.
Finally, at Salem Road, Veterans Drive widens from two narrow lanes to an urban four-lane road, complete with painted bike lanes. At this point, I could comfortably ride, following Veterans Road and crossing Highway 400 on the Harvie Road overpass, a much safer ride than the official TCT route via Mapleview Drive. From there, it was an easy downhill ride into Allandale and to Barrie’s waterfront. I had dinner in Downtown Barrie, then took the evening GO train back to Toronto.
The mandatory city name sign on the downtown waterfront means I made it to Barrie
As I found out the hard way, once again, the Trans Canada Trail remains more of an aspiration than a reality. As much of the trail remains incomplete, the online map shows many yellow sections, which indicate on-road sections, usually without any cycling infrastructure. Furthermore, there are many sections that can not be walked or biked at all, but requires a kayak, canoe, or other watercraft, even in Southern Ontario, where active transportation infrastructure is dependant on municipal and provincial initiatives to build those quality, multiuse trails.
Excerpt from the Trans Canada Trail online map showing Simcoe County. Yellow indicates on-road portions of trail; green represents off-road portions (i.e., rail trails and park paths) and the blue section on Lake Couchiching north of Orillia tells you to pack a kayak to use that section.
Birchmount Road and Lawrence Avenue East, Scarborough
On Friday, July 10, the driver of a westbound Toyota RAV4 SUV drove through a red light on Lawrence Avenue East and struck another vehicle travelling south on Birchmount Avenue. The SUV continued forward, mounting the sidewalk where two pedestrians were standing, and then hit a traffic signal pole. The pole, as designed, fell to the ground. The two pedestrians — a 64-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman — were killed. The drivers of both vehicles — as well as two passengers in the RAV4 — were taken to hospital with “non-life-threatening injuries.” Nearly two weeks later, there have been no updates from the Toronto Police or any news outlet letting the public know of any charges laid; there is not even any mention of who the two dead victims were.
As it’s just another “accident,” society shrugs and continues on.
Roadside memorial to two dead pedestrians, with a pylon covering the base of the fallen traffic pole
A day later, just after 8PM on Saturday, July 11, two people were shot dead on St. Clair Avenue West during the Salsa on St. Clair street festival, and four more were injured. This was not a random shooting, but a violent gunfight where the assailants and those killed knew each other. There were many thousands attending the popular street festival that evening; many of those attending fled fearing for their safety.
Elected leaders from all three levels of government were quick to denounce the violence, and Toronto Police, to its credit, refused to hyperbolize the general risk to the public. Chief Myron Demkiw reminded Torontonians that “shootings are down over 26 per cent compared to the same time last year,” followed by the recognition that such violence “…understandably shakes the sense of safety and security that Torontonians expect and deserve.”
However, there are those whose agendas are not served by nuanced remarks like Chief Demkiw’s. Second-time mayoral candidate Brad Bradford was quick to blast senior police officials, saying it was “wrong to call Toronto a safe city.” Bradford followed with his preferred response from police which “…is to say ‘No. No more. Not now, not ever.’” For someone running on a right-wing reactionary platform, such a response would have been much more helpful against an incumbent mayor.
It’s understandable that the St. Clair shooting has gotten lots of attention from the police, news media, and politicians. Despite a continuing decline in violent crime and Toronto’s well-deserved reputation as a safe city, brazen gun violence is frightening, especially in a crowded area where there are thousands enjoying a summer evening. People want to be safe and feel safe while outside their homes. But that also means being able to walk without fear of being struck and killed by a motorist, even when on a sidewalk.
For intermittent street festivals, parades, and temporary pedestrian malls, a lot of attention is already placed on security, especially after recent vehicle attacks. Portable car traps keep vehicles out, while paid duty police and security guards keep watch at intersections and places in between. But we also do very little to protect pedestrians and other road users from dangerous driving. Doug Ford’s provincial government, working against Toronto and other municipalities, moved against bike lane installation (protected bike lanes that serve as a buffer between motor traffic and sidewalks) and speed enforcement cameras, which were working to reduce drivers’ speeds.
Drivers speeding through a red light on seven-lane Lawrence Avenue East at Birchmount Road. Note the temporary replacement traffic signal affixed to the median pole on the far side of the street.
As a society, we are horrified by gun violence, but generally give scant attention to deaths on our roads that result from motorists’ choices. No councillor, mayor, premier, or prime minister spoke out when two bystanders were killed in Scarborough. Their names have still not been released. There’s no follow up to the police investigation, and it has so far merited just one story in the Toronto Star, CBC Toronto, and CP24.
On June 30, 2026, the Toronto Starfeatured a story about the City of Oshawa’s “lofty plan” to build a new urban aerial gondola system above Simcoe Street, that community’s main north-south corridor. While the technology is novel, it is a fundamentally bad idea for what the regional government proposes it for. Simcoe Street is currently served by the busiest bus route in Durham Region – Route 901 Pulse – as well as several GO Transit buses (routes 52, 56, and 92).
Gondolas have their place in the urban transit toolbox and they have several advantages. They can be inexpensive to build, as they require minimal right-of-way acquisition and do not require tunnelling. They are adept for climbing steep hills and can offer very frequent service with low operating costs. Gondolas can operate in all sorts of weather conditions, from tropical cities to mountain ski resorts. Modern gondola or cable lift operations allow each car to slow or stop at each station to allow passengers to comfortably board and alight, unlike older, traditional ski lifts. The technology is popular in Latin American cities such as Medellín, Colombia (where the Metrocable system feeds that city’s metro), and La Paz, Bolivia, where a network of Mi Teleférico lines makes up the backbone of the transit service.
But in those hilly cities in developing countries, the gondolas cover short distances (only between two and five stations per line) and have limited capacity (Mexico City’s Mexicable line has an hourly capacity of just 3,000 per hour). In the United States, the only transit-based aerial cable cars are the Roosevelt Island Tramway in New York and the Portland Aerial Tram, which charges a very high $9 round-trip fare to the general public. In Canada, the most serious gondola proposal would connect Simon Fraser University with the Skytrain in Burnaby, BC and be part of the Translink network. That proposal – though stalled – is logical as it involves just two stations and allows passengers to easily access the university campus located at the top of Burnaby Mountain, reducing the number of buses that have to climb that long, winding access road.
In contrast, the idea of a gondola running over Simcoe Street in Oshawa makes very little sense, and it seems that the concept will not get beyond a consultant’s report. There are far more reasonable alternatives that merit a closer look, including simple painted bus lanes and other “BRT-lite” measures that can benefit both Durham Region Transit (DRT) and GO Transit passengers.
Oshawa’s transit past and future
Simcoe Street, Oshawa’s backbone, has always been the key to Oshawa’s development as an industrial centre; its future opportunities also line the corridor; good transit is essential.
Established as a small village at the crossroads of Kingston Road and Simcoe Street (an early “colonialization road” that connected Lake Ontario with Lake Scugog), Oshawa grew as an industrial centre starting in the 1870s, when Robert McLaughlin’s carriage works moved to expanded facilities in Oshawa to be nearer the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) and Oshawa Harbour. As more industries followed, a streetcar line, the first component of the Oshawa Railway Company (OR) was built on Simcoe Street in 1895 to connect the burgeoning downtown with the GTR station and harbour to the south. The original Simcoe Street line was built with several freight spurs to allow shippers direct rail access to their properties. Residents could take the streetcar down to Lakeview Park to relax or to beat the summer heat.
As industry grew (the McLaughlin Carriage Works moved into automobile manufacturing starting in 1907, eventually becoming the founding component of General Motors Canada) OR built a new freight-only electric line east of Simcoe Street with direct freight yard connections with the GTR. When the Canadian Pacific and Canadian Northern Railways built new lines through the Oshawa area, the OR connected with those as well. The incomplete Toronto Eastern Railway, a failed interurban line along Kingston Road, provided some use to OR as it provided access to several customers along the TER’s completed section of track.
Though buses replaced passenger service on the single-track Simcoe Street streetcar line in 1940, OR’s freight operations remained busy until the 1960s, with the last electric locomotive withdrawn in 1964. Oshawa’s bus service was taken over by Durham Region Transit in 2006.
When GM opened a modern assembly complex south of the new Highway 401 in 1950, it slowly abandoned its older plants north and west of the downtown core. Its new property had direct CN and CP rail connections and no longer relied on the OR. Meanwhile, other factories such as A.G. Simpson, Duplate/Pittsburgh Plate Glass, Fittings Limited, Ontario Malleable Iron, and Pedlar People, either closed or stopped relying on rail shipments. The old OR tracks, operated by CN diesels in the last few decades, disappeared in the 1990s, replaced by the Michael Starr multi-use trail north of Highway 401. The last remnant of the Oshawa Railway, a Highway 401 overpass built in the late 1930s, was demolished in 2011.
After OR removed its remaining downtown trackage in the 1960s, a one-way road system was implemented in Downtown Oshawa. Simcoe Street became northbound-only between Brock and Elm Streets with Centre Street taking on southbound traffic. King Street was twinned with Bond Street, which followed the disused Toronto Eastern Railway tracks. This helped to speed traffic through the downtown core.
Many of the older industrial lands saw new uses: Most of the old GM North Plant properties are now home to apartment buildings, the Durham Regional Courthouse, and a big box retail complex anchored by Costco Wholesale. The Pedlar People plant was demolished to become a Zellers-anchored plaza on Simcoe Street South. The Ontario Malleable Iron factory became a Knob Hill Farms supermarket which operated between 1981 and 2000. That plant, now mostly demolished, is to be the site of a new GO Transit station; surrounding property, including the old PPG plant, is designated for future development.
Facade of the old Ontario Malleable Iron factory, later Knob Hill Farms
The construction of Highway 401 and changes to intercity rail also changed Oshawa considerably. As Toronto grew and GM’s influence began to decline, Oshawa became part of the metropolitan commutershed. CN closed the old GTR station off Simcoe Street and built a new modern station between Oshawa and Whitby in 1967, consolidating passenger service for those two communities at a single location with space for commuter parking. Though GO Transit was also established that year, its trains only went as far east as Pickering; GO bus service via Highway 401 and via Highway 2 extended the provincial agency’s reach to Oshawa until 1995, when the Lakeshore East line was fully extended to Oshawa.
Map of Oshawa’s transit past and possible future, highlighting the old Oshawa Railway streetcar and freight tracks, connecting railways, and major Oshawa institutions. The proposed route of the gondola along Simcoe Street is highlighted in green. Click image for full size.
With the decline of General Motors’ Canadian operations along with many of its feeder plants, Oshawa’s economy shifted towards education and government services while becoming more of a Toronto suburb rather than an independent industrial centre. The downtown hockey arena/entertainment venue, which opened as the General Motors Centre, is now named for Tribute Communities, a residential developer. Durham College’s campus, on the north end of the city, has grown and now includes Ontario Tech University. Between the campus and downtown is the main Lakeridge Health campus, which is the largest hospital in Durham Region.
As Oshawa and its postsecondary educations have continued to grow, it is no wonder that Durham Region Transit’s 901 Simcoe Street bus – the successor to the old Oshawa Railway streetcar – is so busy and congested. But a gondola is not the right solution, either.
Why better buses are the answer
Typical traffic on Simcoe Street at Adelaide Avenue, near the famous Parkwood Estate and Lakeridge Hospital
As Metrolinx starts work on the Bowmanville GO Transit expansion – which will extend the Lakeshore East rail corridor into central Oshawa and eastward into Clarington – it is replacing the Simcoe Street bridge over the CPKC tracks, a two-year project that has forced the closure of Oshawa’s main street south of downtown. Most north-south traffic now follows Ritson Road, Park Road, or Stevenson Road. Though traffic is heavier on each of those alternatives (especially on Ritson), Oshawa is coping without experiencing complete gridlock.
Metrolinx construction on the replacement Simcoe Street Bridge
Ideally, when the Simcoe Street bridge reopens in late 2027 or early 2028, two of its lanes could be dedicated to DRT and GO buses. These bus-only lanes can then extend northwards towards Downtown Oshawa, Lakeridge Hospital, and Durham College/Ontario Tech. As some of Oshawa’s most important destinations, such as the Oshawa Centre shopping mall and the Oshawa GO/VIA Rail station, are off Simcoe Street, buses can divert on and off the bus lanes to serve those, and other, trip generators; a gondola would not be able to do so.
As the Bowmanville extension of the Lakeshore East GO service will see limited service (peak-direction train service during rush hours and limited off-peak runs) along with a low-speed diversion from the GO corridor to the CPKC line, many passengers connecting to GO towards Toronto would still choose to transfer at the main GO/VIA station.
As the planned new Oshawa Centre GO Station is located on the old Malleable Iron/Knob Hill site two blocks east of Simcoe Street, a gondola would have to swing over to serve it or force a long walking transfer. Depending on how bus service on Simcoe Street is planned by DRT, buses could either divert to serve it, or a dedicated route could provide that connection.
Furthermore, the former Oshawa Railway lands can be better utilized for active transportation purposes. Though the Michael Starr trail runs all the way from Lviv Boulevard (just north of Highway 401) to Taunton Road, it is treated as a recreational trail, rather than a vital transport link. At most crossings, east-west motor traffic is prioritized over pedestrians and cyclists, with “stop and dismount” signs at many trail crossings. There is also a considerable gap between Bruce Street south of Downtown Oshawa and Adelaide Street to the north, as the OR followed Bruce Street and Ritson Road to serve GM’s north plant.
Creating a high-quality through cycling path using part of the OR/Michael Starr right-of-way and improving the existing bike lanes on Mary Street through Downtown Oshawa and extending it to Durham College/Ontario Tech can divert some DRT passengers between the future GO station, the downtown, the hospital, and the campus, and get at least a few car drivers to switch to active transport modes.
Michael Starr Trail, built on the old OR right-of-way. Note the yellow “stop and dismount” signs.
If built, Oshawa’s 13-kilometre, 16-station gondola line would be the longest urban aerial transit route in the world and while it might allow for the retention of four lanes of traffic on Simcoe Street, land would still be required to build the towers, stations, and maintenance facility. Buildings will still have to be demolished. The gondola’s capacity would be limited. The estimated $1.1 billion spent on gondola towers, stations, and vehicles could be much better spent.
Once better bus and active transportation infrastructure is provided, Oshawa might find that the fears of Simcoe Street gridlock may not come to pass. An expensive median busway is not necessarily the answer either: simple reserved lanes, enhanced bus stops with off-board fare payment and all-door bus boarding, signal priority and queue-jumps at busy intersections could do a lot in the short term. Yes, that would mean inconvenience for drivers, but the Metrolinx construction on Simcoe Street south is already an inconvenience.
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A mess of signs and signals on King Street West at Portland Avenue
On a lovely weekday afternoon in early June, I went for a ride through Downtown Toronto to check out the changes to Portland Street between Richmond Avenue and Front Street. This side street, just west of the downtown core, connects the busy Richmond-Adelaide cycle tracks with the Puente De Luz walking/cycling bridge across the Union Station Rail Corridor to CityPlace and via Dan Leckie Way to the Waterfront.
While the City of Toronto is currently restricted in adding new cycling lanes on major corridors, it continues to piece together alternative routes where possible; Portland Street, which parallels congested Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street, is one of those opportunities. A new two-way cycle track was opened while most of Portland Street itself is now one-way for motorists.
Looking south at the end of Portland Street towards CityPlace and the ramp to the Puente De Luz Bridge (bridge at far left)
At Portland and Wellington Streets, an interesting new traffic alignment diverts motor traffic around the complex intersection while permitting through cyclist and pedestrian movement on all sides, improving safety for all road users. On Portland Street northbound and southbound, drivers are required to turn right onto Wellington maintaining local access while discouraging through drivers. This new layout, complete with Muskoka chairs laid out in the middle of the intersection is unusual for Toronto and is more common in cycling-friendly cities such as Montreal. Emergency vehicles can still pass through, following the cycling paths.
Wellington Street is a designated east-west cycling route connecting the Downtown Core and west end neighbourhoods like Parkdale and Liberty Village and will eventually hookup with an extension of the West Toronto Railpath. Together with increased density in the downtown area, this intersection will only get busier with cyclists and pedestrians in the future.
Portland looking north at Wellington. Motorists must turn in one direction from Wellington or Portland, opening up the middle of the crossing to a four-way cycling intersection, with planters and colourful Muskoka chairs Comfortable places to sit in the middle of an intersection
Despite the very unToronto urban intervention at Portland and Wellington, a very Toronto intervention continues one block north at King Street. Though the King Street Pilot was launched in November 2017, over eight years ago, little has been done since to improve the street for pedestrians or transit users. To discourage motorists from illegally proceeding through intersections (intended to eliminate congestion for streetcars and buses), the curb lanes are blocked with painted Jersey barriers. More recently, additional traffic lights were installed, so there are now signals for transit, cyclists, motorists, and pedestrians.
At Portland, and every other intersection that drivers are not permitted to go straight (taxi drivers are excepted after 10 pm), the traffic signals remain red at all times. A right green arrow appears for 5-10 seconds at the beginning of the cycle, allowing motorists to turn unimpeded. At Portland, however, eastbound motorists on King may not make a right on red because of the two-way cycle track on the west side of the street. Because of all these restrictions, there are seven signs facing eastbound drivers affixed to the traffic pole, along with two transit signals, one traffic signal, two bicycle signals, and one pedestrian signal.
This could have been clearer
The amount of clutter here can be confusing and is also unsightly. First off, there is no need for the “bicycle signal” sign below the two bicycle signal heads and next to the pedestrian signal. The signal aspects are already clearly for bicycles without the sign. Revising the Ontario Traffic Manual (OTM) to allow red arrows on traffic signals could both simplify the yellow traffic signal here and eliminate the need for the “no right turn on red” sign. It would also be clear then that right is the only permitted sign. Speaking of the OTM, dedicated transit signal aspects such as those used in Europe or even several American cities would eliminate the need for the “transit signal” sign and further reduce confusion. If the late night taxi exception was removed, the “no left turn” and “no straight movement” signs could be consolidated as well.
But most of all, the sign clutter makes it even more clear that the King Street Pilot configuration needs to become permanent, with raised curb extensions at the far sides of each intersection, with a level platform for streetcar boarding. Permanent planters and benches would be a visual cue to drivers that King Street is not a throughfare, but a pedestrian and transit-first corridor.
There is a lot less sign clutter along Seventh Avenue in Calgary, which is exclusively a transit and pedestrian corridor
A gigantic school zone speed limit sign on McCowan Road in Scarborough
Months after Doug Ford’s provincial government banned the use of municipal speed enforcement cameras, calling it a “cash grab,” new supersized school speed zone signs are going up across the province. The first ones I encountered are on McCowan Road in Scarborough, near my spouse’s family home.
The signs, placed near St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic School south of Finch Avenue, are gigantic: nearly 2.5 metres tall, mounted over three metres above the ground, affixed to an extra large wooden pole as the new signs were too big for the standard metal poles used for that purpose. The province delivered 80 signs to the City of Toronto, but with four signs per school zone (two mounted in each direction including advance warning signs), that meant only 20 schools would get these new totems.
The new supersized school zone sign next to an older “community safety zone” sign, affixed to a standard metal sign pole
Before the pro-driver legislation was enacted on November 14, 2025, there was a speed camera placed on McCowan Road adjacent to the elementary school, one of 150 located in the City of Toronto. Under provincial law, municipal speed cameras were only allowed to be installed in specific designated safety zones, namely roadways adjacent to schools, parks, or seniors’ residences, and had to be accompanied with advisory signage.
Between April 2024, when the camera was activated, and July 2025, when the camera was destroyed (one of many vandalized that year), over 19,000 speeding motorists were captured by the photo camera travelling at least 11 km/h over the posted speed limit. This was despite the existing maximum speed, school zone, community safety zone, and municipal speed camera signs on this stretch of road.
Sign warning of a municipal speed camera in Brampton in October 2025
Despite the high number of infractions, the cameras were doing their job; a job that the Toronto Police isn’t motivated — or able — to do. As seasoned municipal watcher Matt Elliot points out, for period between January 1, 2025 through November 14, 2025 (when camera enforcement was forced to end), 628,165 speeding tickets were issued through the automated speed enforcement program. Toronto Police’s “Vision Zero” traffic unit issued just 14,500 tickets.
New city report notes the Toronto Police Vision Zero Enforcement Team handed out about 14,500 speeding tickets in 2025. Might sound like a lot, but well, compare and contrast.
Despite all those tickets issued, the cameras were especially effective at reducing speeding in school zones. A 2025 Toronto Metropolitan University/SickKids Hospital study found that speed enforcement cameras reduced speeding by 45 per cent and reduced speeds by most drivers by more than 10 km/h.
Active police enforcement remains a valuable tool because officers can lay charges that automatic speed cameras can not catch, including distracted, impaired, and dangerous driving. But policing has a dark history of racial profiling and has a pro-motorist “windshield bias,” while speed enforcement and red light cameras do not discriminate.
Furthermore, North American roads are designed for excessive speed and not for the safety of vulnerable road users. We rely on signs to advise motorists of how we expect them to drive, rather than road design that requires attentive and slower driving. Speed cameras were a useful stopgap that worked a lot better than signage.
So, the new supersized signs going up are not a solution to unsafe driving: they are just another mere indication that children, seniors, and all pedestrians and cyclists don’t really matter, especially to politicians like Doug Ford.
