11-07-2018, 12:33 PM
(11-07-2018, 11:02 AM)Spokes Wrote: Cyclist, pedestrian collisions up on Waterloo Region’s roadways
https://www.therecord.com/news-story/901...-roadways/
Quote:Pedestrian and cycling-related collisions with cars increased last year on Waterloo Region's roads.
Pedestrian collisions were up 14 per cent to 139, according to a regional report released Tuesday.
Cycling collisions increased 13 per cent. However, the 98 collisions in 2017 are lower than the five-year average of 105.
The region's manager of transportation engineering, Bob Henderson, said it's not unusual for collision numbers to spike in any given year.
"Collisions every year fluctuate," Henderson told regional councillors at a Tuesday committee meeting. "It's not indicative of a trend."
Compared to other municipalities in Ontario, he said roads in Waterloo Region are generally safe. As well, fatal collisions per capita are trending downward over the past decade, along with overall collisions.
"The long-term trend is downward, which is positive," Henderson said.
The total number of collisions in 2017 was 6,263, including nine fatal collisions and 1,424 injury collisions.
Henderson said there are more cyclists and pedestrians using regional roads, partly due to infrastructure such as multi-use trails that continue to be added, which contributed to the increase in collisions. Regional staff believe the increase in pedestrians is closely related to growth in transit ridership, pegged at an average growth rate of 5.1 per cent annually since January 2000 when Grand River Transit was established.
Are we actually going to say that this is ok because a) it fluctuates every year and b) there are more people walking and cycling so it's just bound to happen.
How about you tell that to the people who were hit? It's ok, it's just bound to happen.
This is embarrassing. The only correct response is, "this is to many, we should have zero and we will do everything we can until we reach that number"
The Regional Staff, and specifically the transportation director has been crystal clear on this issue, it would be inconvenient to drivers to not kill cyclists and pedestrians, so regional staff recommend against such a policy. To be entirely fair, it would also be inconvenient for drivers to also not kill other drivers, and so for the same reason, not a priority.
This is why all injury statistics reported are "excess social cost" not "absolute social cost". "Some injuries are okay" are implicit and not even really mentioned at all.
Frankly, it turns me red just thinking about it.