October is Pedestrian Safety Month: It’s Up to Everyone to be Aware of Their Surroundings and Follow the Rules of the Road

Today kicks off Pedestrian Safety Month in Peel – a community partnership involving the City of Mississauga’s Road Safety Committee, Region of Peel and Ministry of Transportation. This provincially-recognized month raises awareness and proactively addresses pedestrian safety issues for all road users. The ultimate goal is to prevent collisions and deaths on the road in Mississauga.

“We know from Peel Police that 47 per cent of all collisions between pedestrians and vehicles happen when drivers are making turns at intersections while pedestrians are crossing with the right-of-way. This is not only unacceptable but preventable. We need to put an end to speeding and distracted, impaired and careless driving on our roads and in our community,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “In collaboration with our communities and partners like Peel Regional Police, we’re taking action to keep all road users safe to reduce injuries and collisions on Mississauga roadways. We’re committed to achieving Vision Zero, which means no pedestrian fatalities on our roadways. Period.”

In addition to this data, this year, there have been 31 collisions that occurred in Peel Region between a vehicle and pedestrian, resulting in death or serious injury – 16 of which happened in Mississauga. As of September 1, 2018, penalties have increased for drivers who endanger pedestrians in Ontario. This includes higher fines and more demerit points for drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians at crossovers and any crosswalk with a school crossing guard present, as well as new penalties for drivers who are convicted of careless driving causing death or bodily harm.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are driving less, but walking or cycling more in our neighbourhoods. As services begin reopening, people are heading back to work and students are going back to school. This means increased traffic and busier streets with more road users. We want to remind the community that it is up to all of us to ensure that Mississauga’s roadways are safe at all times – regardless of how you choose to travel,” said Pat Saito, Ward 9 Councillor and Chair of the City’s Road Safety Committee. “In Mississauga, we want to protect everyone’s right to safe mobility. Through campaigns like Pedestrian Safety Month, the Region, City and Road Safety Committee are committed to raising awareness and educating all road users.”

By adopting Vision Zero, the City has already begun implementing many road safety initiatives. These include reducing speed limits in all neighbourhoods, implementing more traffic calming measures, installing additional pedestrian crossovers, ensuring more crossing guards are stationed in school zones and building new pedestrian and cycling facilities to improve connectivity.

“Our responsibility is to enable residents to move freely, safely, easily and efficiently throughout Mississauga by implementing the actions identified in the City’s Transportation Master Plan that was approved in 2019,” said Geoff Wright, Commissioner, Transportation and Works. “In partnership with the Region of Peel, we are continuing to invest in safety initiatives, identifying and addressing barriers to make our roadways safer, lowering speed limits and installing traffic calming to address speeding, making improvements to infrastructure and using data to make informed decisions.”

For more information about pedestrian safety, tips for pedestrians, drivers and cyclists or other City road safety initiatives, visit https://www.mississauga.ca/services-and-programs/transportation-and-streets/traffic/.

Tags

• Public Safety
• Roads and Traffic