[Steve X]

I would much rather we discouraged jaywalking by designing the infrastructure correctly, i.e. with an appropriate amount of crosswalks, and safety zones to prevent people from blindly walking forward:

View attachment 672323

Or even what they do in Kitchener-Waterloo, where there are gates and audible warning signals that sound when a train approaches. Putting up a wall would just make an already pedestrian hostile landscape more unpleasant to traverse.

I already feel like there’s too many lights in the area. I believe they should just elevate that part of the line between Victoria Park and Warden which would have save all the headaches.

This city, unlike Europe wants a traffic light for all crossings. They can’t simply install a crossing with a sign telling one to look. If there were to be crossings every 50m, there would be a traffic light every 50m to improve accessibility.

 

[Northern Light]

I believe they should just elevate that part of the line between Victoria Park and Warden which would have save all the headaches.

Can we open the line first before reconstructing it? LOL

For the record, I would have preferred it to be entirely grade separated........but that ship has sailed.

 

[ZEBuilder]

For those of you worried about slow zones being implemented it is very unlikely to happen. In KW there have been pedestrians hit, there have been cyclists hit, there have been countless close calls and there have been fatalities associated with the LRTs operation but that has not changed the operation of the LRT in any way.

There are additional safety measures being implemented in places where there is significant platform volumes (University of Waterloo) but beyond that there is nothing that has changed in relation to the built infrastructure even considering the locations where these kinds of incidents have occurred. In one instance a student from a high school walked across the tracks where they shouldn't and got hit. For a couple of days it was in the news and everyone was going on about how they should put barriers in, make it more safe etc. Nothing ended up happening with that because at the end of the day there are crossings close by, this case it is certainly similar.

Or even what they do in Kitchener-Waterloo, where there are gates and audible warning signals that sound when a train approaches. Putting up a wall would just make an already pedestrian hostile landscape more unpleasant to traverse.

When it comes to crossing arms and bells much of KWs route does not have them. The locations that do are in the train spurs but everywhere that it is street running there are no gates and looks just like Eglinton.

 

[T3G]

I already feel like there’s too many lights in the area. I believe they should just elevate that part of the line between Victoria Park and Warden which would have save all the headaches.

This city, unlike Europe wants a traffic light for all crossings. They can’t simply install a crossing with a sign telling one to look. If there were to be crossings every 50m, there would be a traffic light every 50m to improve accessibility.

Is that a new regulation? There's loads of crosswalks in the old city that don't have full traffic lines, just the yellow crossing signals.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

If there is a driveway or a side street, we should expect to have people in the vicinity.

Should be some sort of barrier to direct pedestrians away from crossing at driveways and side-streets.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

I find it hard to blame people from crossing midblock -- especially here where for several years it's been a safe place to cross because there weren't any trains running -- when the legal options are 5+ minutes out of the way. Detours with similar time delays are rare for drivers, but common place for pedestrians, and then people shake their heads about what the person was thinking.

In Ontario, "jaywalking" itself is not a specific offence, but crossing the road in a way that interferes with traffic can be illegal. While pedestrians can cross mid-block, they must yield the right-of-way to vehicles and avoid situations where they cause a hazard

 

[Steve X]

Is that a new regulation? There's loads of crosswalks in the old city that don't have full traffic lines, just the yellow crossing signals.

Many are remnants of the old boroughs. In fact many on main roads have been replaced with traffic signals over the years after people got killed while using them correctly. Eglinton is definitely not suitable for those kinds of crossings.

 

[Aplus23]

Just wait until there are thousands of residents living on either side wanting or even being encouraged to walk across Eglinton.

The very term is akin to victim blaming. People will cross where they want to, and the road and LRV should be designed to reasonable accommodate those who want to cross the road. It’s not realistic to expect anyone to deviate more than a few minutes from their preferred straight A to B line.

Well do so at your own peril, why are you not crossing the road at the designated stoplight, why are you crossing active train tracks.
The pedestrian crosswalk is a few minute(s) walk in either direction. Would you cross a hwy

 

[TOtramz]

I think they should have put fences on all parts of the ROW or ditch the green track because I think bare track is a lot less attractive to cross on foot.

 

[T3G]

Many are remnants of the old boroughs. In fact many on main roads have been replaced with traffic signals over the years after people got killed while using them correctly. Eglinton is definitely not suitable for those kinds of crossings.

What else can be done, besides jaywalking?

If we want to improve the experience of existing in the suburbs for people who are not motorists, the status quo is not acceptable, nor is nanny state nonsense like putting up fences to block people from jaywalking. (If they are really determined, they will simply scale said fence). If people want to know why so many people on sites like these are against cars, it's because of stuff like this, because we keep building streets where pedestrian utility is merely an afterthought. Of course, no one wants to walk on an ugly traffic sewer like Eglinton, but often circumstances dictate otherwise.

Fences are also a problematic idea because, as pictured upthread, the space between the track and the road is very narrow, and if you ever need to evacuate a train car mid-section, or have the authorities respond to a situation on board a train car... how are they going to get in?

 

[txlseries4]

why are you not crossing the road at the designated stoplight, why are you crossing active train tracks.

1. It’s hot out and you are tired from walking and want the shorter way
2. Walking is difficult for you so you look for a shorter route
3. You’ve been safe taking this way before
4. You’re unaware there are trains because you haven’t seen any before
5. You want to go 40m across the street and don’t want to walk 200m out of your way to get there
6. You don’t see any cars in either direction so you feel like it’s safe
7. You suddenly need to go to the bathroom and your home is across the street
8. You see the bus you need to catch and will miss it unless you cross the tracks
9. You’re late for something
10. You have a cognitive impairment that impacts your decision making or impedes your sense of danger
11. You see a chance to cross, see the LRV, but underestimate its speed
12. You just found out there’s a family emergency and are rushing to get somewhere

We won’t know why for this woman but the incident and the anecdote about police stopping others from crossing show me that what happened is a byproduct of the whole area’s design. I’m not saying she’s not at fault, but this was entirely predictable

 

[Richard White]

If there is a driveway or a side street, we should expect to have people in the vicinity.
View attachment 672324

Should be some sort of barrier to direct pedestrians away from crossing at driveways and side-streets. View attachment 672331

For once I agree with Walter.

I have lived in this area since 1993 and people have for decades crossed midblock along Eglinton from Birchmount to VP/O'Connor. The reason for this is the distance between lights and the former islands.

When they put the LRT in, the distance remained the same but they took out alot of the former traffic islands and crossings. Prudham gate lost its traffic lights while the section from Lebovic to VP lost its traffic islands.

For example..

This is Lebovic and Eglinton in 2013

VS Lebovic and Eglinton in 2024

This is Prudham Gate and Eglinton in 2009.. note the traffic lights and pedestrian crossing.

VS Prudham Gate and Eglinton in 2024. Note the missing lights and crossing.

Lastly.. see the spot of todays incident in 2009. Note the large islands mid-block.

This image was taken in June at the spot of todays incident.

One could argue that the LRT actually made things less safe for pedestrians by removing less than ideal but safer mid-block crossing points. I am not saying that any one thing caused this, I am however saying that with large distances between protected crossings this was bound to happen eventually.

 

[TOtramz]

Most people properly judge distances and oncoming vehicles speeds so that they can cross mid-block safely. Many people will continue to do this even when the line is in revenue service.
My only hope is that the TTC does not overreact to this and change their operations substantially because of this incident.

 

[crs1026]

There are sections of the row that are profoundly unsafe to cross because the track structure and devices are quite pedestrian unfriendly. Hopefully there are measurea to keep people off those. That is very different from any other Toronto streetcar route where at least the surface is level and walkable.

Other sections including the grass strips may be more inviting, although I’m not sure the footing is as solid as it may look. I’m not sure what it will take to remove the temptation to wLk over the tracks here.

There is absolutely no room for error as the space between roadway and track is not a refuge point on either side, nor is the space between the two tracks.

If the attitude is “cross at your own risk” - I do think some additional crossover points are needed to mitigate the hazard. It’s reasonable to require people to use only the formal crossing points… provided there are enough of these.

- Paul

 

[TOtramz]

There are sections of the row that are profoundly unsafe to cross because the track structure and devices are quite pedestrian unfriendly. Hopefully there are measurea to keep people off those. That is very different from any other Toronto streetcar route where at least the surface is level and walkable.

Other sections including the grass strips may be more inviting, although I’m not sure the footing is as solid as it may look. I’m not sure what it will take to remove the temptation to wLk over the tracks here.

There is absolutely no room for error as the space between roadway and track is not a refuge point on either side, nor is the space between the two tracks.

If the attitude is “cross at your own risk” - I do think some additional crossover points are needed to mitigate the hazard. It’s reasonable to require people to use only the formal crossing points… provided there are enough of these.

- Paul

I agree with what you posted above but I only wonder if adding even more traffic lights will delay the line even further and also make the surface section slower than it already is