Call

Blog

Law
02

Blog

Tragic Biking Fatality in Toronto Highlights Need for Better Infrastructure

How many tragedies do we need in Toronto before we invest in keeping Vulnerable Road Users safe?

Wednesday evening, a 5-year-old boy fell into the roadway while riding on the Martin Goodman Trail and died after being struck by a car. The death of a young boy is tragic and incomprehensible for any parent. Based on the information found in the Toronto Police Service news release, the area of the crash raises some very concerning questions regarding the lack of infrastructure or barriers in this area to separate cars from pedestrians and cyclists.

For many of us who use the Martin Goodman Trail (MGT) daily, we know the area well. One should consider the following:

  1. The MGT was designed and meant to encourage biking, walking, jogging, and rollerblading.
  2. It is a major active transportation corridor for families and others to access and use the many lakeside parks that connect along the path.
  3. Lakeshore Road is a high volume, multi-lane commuter traffic area where cars are known to travel faster than posted speed limits.
  4. It is considered an alternate route from the Gardiner and in fact, signage encourages cars to use it as an alternate route.
  5. The ramps onto the East and Westbound Gardiner off of Jameson and Lakeshore Roads are closed during rush hour times, forcing traffic to remain and congest on Lakeshore, specifically in this area.

    Martin Goodman Trail

  6. In some areas, the MGT is separated from Lakeshore Road by medians, park areas, trees, separate bridges etc.
  7. The area in which the crash occurred, seen in the CP24 image below, is of concern. It is one of the few areas that Lakeshore Road and the MGT are not separated by anything.
    Toronto Youth Biking Death
  8. This area of the MGT is also an area where two MGT paths merge into one area, thus congesting active transport users.
  9. This area is also atop Budapest Hill which is a downhill grade alongside a busy multi-lane road.

Clearly, a barrier in this area would have prevented this tragedy from happening. The costs would be minimal and now more than ever, it is called for. This is a high-density pedestrian/cycling pathway placed directly next to a fast car commuting corridor with virtually nothing separated it than some light poles.

It is sad to say that unfortunately, it is too late for this young boy, but it is time for Toronto to consider the safety of those commuters, runners, children and families that use the MGT on a daily basis. This isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last. It is time to protect the many users of the MGT, it is time to do more for Toronto’s vulnerable road users.

Photo credit: Featured – CP24, Bike Path – WATERFRONToronto

Comments

Ann Groninger Jan 04, 2024

Many of our cycling clients find themselves having to interact with the criminal justice system. Typically, it’s because the driver who hits them (or their family member) is charged with a crime or traffic offense. Occasionally bicyclists themselves are charged with traffic offenses! Every state’s criminal laws are different, but there is a lot of […]

Read More
Bike Crash Road Defect Georgia
Peter Wilborn Jun 14, 2023

We recently shared the story of a trial victory from the State of Texas where a bicyclist was injured due to a defect in a road maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation. Texas Road Defect   We now can tell the story of another huge win in a road defect case, this time from […]

Read More
Road defect dangerous to cyclists
Charlie Thomas Mar 14, 2023

Recently, attorneys with the Bike Law network took a case to a trial against a titan of a defendant: the Texas Department of Transportation. TxDOT was represented by the Attorney General’s Office, one of Texas’ largest legal teams. We had a great client, but it was a tough case to prove. So tough, in fact, […]

Read More
bike path charlotte
Ann Groninger Jan 13, 2023

  2023 got off to a rough start for Charlotte, North Carolina, particularly in the context of road safety. Within about a week, we lost a young woman who was riding her bicycle, a pedestrian killed in the same area of town, and four people were killed in a car wreck on I-85 in the […]

Read More
North Carolina Bike Crash
Ann Groninger Dec 06, 2022

Unless you’re a very recent follower of ours, you’ve heard us talk before about “contributory negligence.” To recap: “pure contributory negligence” is the law in North Carolina and only 3 other states (Alabama, Virginia, Maryland). In pure contributory negligence states, if a person is injured by someone else’s fault and the injured person contributes even […]

Read More
Is It Illegal to Ride Your Bike on the Sidewalk bikelaw
Peter Wilborn Aug 01, 2022

The laws dictating whether you can ride your bike on the sidewalk differ depending where you live. Different states have different laws on this matter, and local ordinances also vary. Let’s take a look at the legal framework behind various state laws related to cycling on sidewalks. The laws of sidewalk-riding can be very complicated […]

Read More
Ebike crash
Bruce Hagen Apr 26, 2022

DRIVER ON METH KILLS 17 YEAR OLD BICYCLIST, BARROW COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY REFUSES TO CHARGE DRIVER WITH FELONY.   On August 23, 2020, at approximately 8:40pm, 17-year old Obianuju Osuegbu was on her way home from her summer job working at a grocery store. She had earned enough money that summer to buy herself a […]

Read More
Stop as Yield
Brian Weiss Apr 25, 2022

Finally, “Stop As Yield” (the much sought after common sense traffic law for bicyclists) is coming to Colorado in 2022, likely July 1st.   Stop as Yield, aka the “Safety Stop” After the Governor Polis signs the law and the Safety Stop becomes effective, anyone who rides a bicycle or scooter on public roads will […]

Read More
Contributory Negligence
Ann Groninger Apr 25, 2022

It took losing at trial and a long appellate process, but it ended in a blow to contributory negligence in North Carolina. We just won an appeal on a bicycle crash case that happened in 2016 and came to us in 2018. The case went to trial during the spring of 2021. Our client was […]

Read More
Load More