Parkside Motion Coming to City Council

In response to last month's fatal collision on Parkside Drive, about 150 residents took part in a peaceful protest on Tuesday, October 26 while Councillor Gord Perks has introduced Motion MM37.1 regarding safety measures proposed on that street. While the motion does include some of the items requested by the Safe Parkside group, there are serious concerns with Item 1F which calls for the addition of Green P parking on the west side of Parkside.

Given this motion will be debated at next week's City Council meeting, please e-mail Toronto City Council (councilmeeting@toronto.ca), as well as copy Mayor Tory and your city councillor calling on them to remove Item 1F from the motion and instead push for expediting the redesign of Parkside Drive through the High Park Movement Strategy. Below is the e-mail I sent, though I encourage you to customize it to emphasize why a safer Parkside Drive is important to you.

UPDATE 2021/11/05 - Since my e-mail was sent to City Council, a suggestion was brought up in the Safe Parkside group to have the motion referred to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee in order to allow for the public to comment and depute on the item. A 2/3 majority is needed to waive the referral for this item at City Council, so at least nine councillors (out of 26 including the Mayor) would need to oppose waiving the referral for this to happen. (Thanks David W)

Stepping Up Action on Parkside Drive

Since the Sunnyside Community Association held their meeting in May 2021 and the Safe Parkside Facebook group was created, there was little activity aside from City Council rescinding the afternoon rush hour parking restrictions on Parkside Drive . However, last week’s deaths of Valdemar and Fatima Avila at Parkside and Spring Road – which I use every day to walk Mozzie in High Park – prompted neighbours to organize and renew calls to make Parkside Drive safer for everyone. Lots of “Slow Down” signs were put up along Parkside and 50 to 60 people attended a vigil at the crash site on Tuesday afternoon including Councillor Gord Perks, MPP Bhutila Karpoche, and MP Arif Virani. It’s time to recap some of the upcoming actions, as well as clarify some facts regarding arterial roads.

Members of the Bike Brigade helped marshall the intersection closure during Tuesday's vigil

It’s Time for a Safer Parkside

Since the Toronto Community Bikeways Coalition was formed last May, one of their primary asks has been to put in a bikeway along Weston Road and Keele Street from Cardell Avenue to Bloor Street. However, Keele continues onto Parkside Drive from Bloor to Lake Shore Boulevard which is a fast moving arterial and unpleaseant for those who walk or bike. Earlier this month, the Sunnyside Community Association held a Zoom meeting in which many of the more than 40 people in attendance were supportive of safety improvements on Parkside including bike lanes. A separate Facebook group called “Safe Parkside” was also organized around this issue.

A pedestrian crossover is needed at Parkside for this trail immediately north of The Queensway