This afternoon, an e-bike rider was killed at Avenue Road and Elgin Avenue; making it the fourth cyclist killed in Toronto this year. To add insult to injury, this isn’t the first time a cyclist was killed in an area where bike lanes were proposed but never acted upon. The same thing happened to Miguel Joshua Escanan in August 2021 at Avenue and Bloor. Let’s recap where things stand with Avenue Road, as well as demand action to get these safety improvements done urgently.
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.
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| Members of the Bike Brigade helped marshall the intersection closure during Tuesday's vigil |
