Toronto police put focus on cycling safety this week

By ALI RAZA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It’s bicycle safety week in Toronto, as the Toronto Police Service conducts a cycling safety campaign.

The campaign will run from July 13 to 19, and will have officers out on major cycling and pedestrian routes across the city focusing on community engagement, education, and enforcement.

The safety focus comes in response to the city’s ActiveTO program that allowed for expanded cycling lanes and pedestrian areas so that residents could follow Toronto Public Health’s physical distancing guidelines.

“This means more cyclists are riding around our city and drivers need to be alert and anticipate sharing the road with vulnerable road users,” a Toronto police press release said.

Across major roadways and cycling lanes in East York and the Beaches, such as Danforth Avenue and Queen Street East, Toronto police officers will be conducting traffic enforcement activities, and speaking with cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers about road safety.

In 2019, a total of 64 people were killed on Toronto roads. Of those, 47 (73 per cent) were vulnerable road users including one cyclist.

Police will be enforcing rules aimed at speeding, aggressive driving, distracted driving, and impaired driving.

Officers will also talk to drivers about “dooring incidents” that happen on busy roads, where driver opens a door onto oncoming traffic.

The campaign is part of Toronto’s Vision Zero Road Safety Plan.

• Ali Raza is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for Beach Metro News. His reporting is funded by the Government of Canada through its Local Journalism Initiative.

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