Toronto testing speed bumps to slow down left-turning drivers at busy intersections

Toronto introduced a left-turn calming pilot on Thursday as part of the city's Vision Zero Road Safety Plan to eliminate traffic-related injuries and deaths.

As part of the pilot, rubber speed bumps will be installed at intersections throughout the city to prevent left-turn driver collisions with pedestrians and cyclists. These types of collisions are among the most prominent that cause injury and death to other road users in Toronto, the city said in a news release.

Speed bumps will be installed to encouragedrivers to take a slower and sharper left turn when driving across crosswalks, rather than wide, diagonal turns. The idea isthat it will providedrivers better visibility of pedestrians and cyclists while also reducing turning speeds.

The first of these speed bumps have already been installed. The city said that speed bumps were added to two intersections in July,one at Sheppard Avenue and Kennedy Road and another at Finch Avenue and Sandhurst Circle.

The same treatments will be installed at six other intersections by the end of August. Locations for the pilot will bedecided based on the history and severity of previous collisions, as well as findings of previous safety reviews.

WATCH | This pilot project aims to reduce injuries from left-hand turns:

Pilot project aims to cut down on injuries caused by drivers left-hand turns

3 years ago

Duration 2:00

The City of Toronto aims to cut down on pedestrian and cyclist injuries caused by drivers making left-hand turns by installing rubber speed bumps at certain intersections. Paula Duhatschek explains.

Coun. Cynthia Lai, who representsScarborough North, where the first of the speed bumps were installed, saidthe pilot is an initiative that she believes will make Toronto roads safer, especially in suburbs.

"I've had many requests in my ward for speed bumps and traffic calming initiatives," she said. "I think we need to see more of these initiatives in suburban areas because people tend to speed and tend not to be so careful."

Because many of her constituents don't speak English as their first language, she saidshe'd also like to see the city do more to educate and communicate the purpose behind these initiatives. A spokesperson for the city says it is in the process of translating education material on Vision Zero into other languages.

Step in the right direction, advocate says

The pilot is a step in the right direction to improving cyclist and pedestrian safety, saidKevin Rupasinghe, campaigns manager with Cycle Toronto, a groupthat advocates for safe cycling in the city. He saidthat busy streets with a lot of foot traffic should be prioritized for left-turn calming pilots.

"There's plenty of times where I have wished that there were measures to keep drivers turning slower and better able to see me," he said.

"And I'm really confident that we'll see those results with this type of measureit just has to be rolled out at a lot more intersections."

In a press release, Mayor John Tory saidhe is looking forward to seeing the results of the pilot and "if this measure should be expanded to other locations across the city." The city also said in a separate statement that more details about the pilot will be announced in coming weeks.

With more people walking and cycling outdoors during the pandemic, Rupasinghesaid,he'd also like to see the city do more to protect cyclists in addition to the left-turn calming pilot. Cycle Toronto, for example, is campaigning for a network of protected bike lanes across Scarborough.

Positive results seen elsewhere

Similar left-turn calming measures arealready in place inother cities.

In New York City, a pilot has been running since 2016. It was an engineering solution that came out of a study analyzing why pedestrians were being hit by drivers, saidRob Viola, director of safety policy and research at New York City's Department of Transportation.

The city hasreportedthat injuries among pedestrians decreased by 20 per cent at locations where turn calming treatments were employed. Similarly, the speed of left turns decreased by an average of 52.6 per cent.

"It has been a big success and has caught on in a lot of cities across North America," saidViola.

"It's pretty cheap, easy and the results are strong, so anything like that in transportation is going to get picked up."