One Death on Our Roads is One Too Many: The City Continues to Implement Road Safety Measures

Traffic collisions can affect people’s lives forever. This Sunday, November 20 is the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. The City’s Civic Centre Clock Tower will be dimmed to honour and remember those who’ve lost their lives and those who’ve been injured or affected by a collision on Mississauga roadways. The City also acknowledges the physical, emotional and mental impacts of traffic collisions that extend to the victims’ friends, family, colleagues and community, including first responder workers from Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services, Peel Regional Police and Peel Paramedics Services.

“The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is an opportunity to reflect, remember and honour those who have lost their lives and support those affected by traffic collisions in Mississauga,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “As we grow into a thriving urban centre, we are making it a priority to improve the safety of everyone on our roads, whether they are walking, cycling, using transit or driving in our city. Through our Vision Zero Action Plan, Mississauga is fully committed to making our roads safer for everyone.”

According to Peel Regional Police, speeding, distracted driving and impaired driving are significant contributing factors for fatal collisions in Mississauga.

“The City has developed the Vision Zero Action Plan to help us reach our goal of zero fatal and serious collisions on our roads. Since Council approved the plan in 2021, a large majority of actions in the plan have started and are currently underway. These actions help protect pedestrians and cyclists while preventing drivers from speeding on our roads,” said Geoff Wright, Commissioner, Transportation and Works. “Over the next few years, we’re planning to implement more actions like developing a digital dashboard of up-to-date collision data, developing a policy to reduce speeds on arterial and collector roads and continuing to install bicycle signals at locations where we know there’s a high mix of cyclists and cars to provide specific guidance for cyclists at intersections.”

Below are some of the actions that were implemented this year to help Mississauga reach Vision Zero.

• Deployed speed cameras in 52 locations: Twenty-two speed cameras rotated throughout Mississauga to actively enforce the speed limit in school zones to help make Mississauga streets safer for all road users. Cameras have helped reduce operating speeds by an average of 9 km/h, and have improved compliance with the posted speed limit by an average of 27 per cent.
  
• Piloted Mississauga’s first School Streets: This past spring, the City launched its School Streets Pilot Project. A temporary, car-free environment was created in front of three schools across the city on weekdays during morning drop-off and/or afternoon pick-up time. It created space for community building and prioritized safe conditions for students and their families walking and rolling to and from school.
  
• Completed the Neighbourhood Area Speed Limit Project: Since 2019, the City has been working to reduce all neighbourhood speed limits from 50 km/h to 40 km/h and all school zone speed limits in neighbourhoods from 40 km/h to 30 km/h. Since starting the project, 164 community safety zones have been established where public safety is of special concern. Many set fines, like speeding and traffic signal-related offences, are doubled within community safety zones.
  
• Piloted Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPI): The City introduced a Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) pilot project at the Lakeshore Road and Stavebank Road intersection. LPI is a traffic signal timing feature that gives pedestrians a head start into the crosswalk before the light turns green for vehicles and cyclists. This helps reduce conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists and drivers at the intersection. They allow drivers to see pedestrians more clearly, are helpful for those who may need more time to cross and help keep our most vulnerable road users safe.
  
• Introduced a $55 fine for parking in bike lanes: The City updated its by-laws so drivers will now be fined for stopping or parking in bike lanes. This update will improve safety and comfort for cyclists using bike lanes. If you see drivers parking or stopping in a bike lane, you’re encouraged to call 311 to identify the location for enforcement.
  
• Updated pedestrian signals: This year, the City has been updating its pedestrian signals to provide more time for pedestrians to cross the street. So far, 650 out of 800 intersections have been updated to provide a longer flashing phase for pedestrians to cross the road safely.
  
• Installed traffic calming in eight neighbourhoods: The City continues to install traffic calming across neighbourhoods in Mississauga. Physical devices or design features like speed humps, speed cushions or raised pedestrian crossings help reduce excessive traffic speeds.
  
• Continued the Bike Ambassador program: The program returned in person this year. It provided cycling safety education at more than 50 workshops and community pop-up events at libraries, schools, community centres and along trails across Mississauga. The ambassadors also helped run the Community Rides program, a series of free bike rides for cyclists of all ages and abilities running throughout the spring, summer and fall, and provided free bike valets at several events.
  
• Continued the School Walking Routes Program: This program aims to encourage active travel to school, such as walking or biking, and improve safety along busy routes to schools. As part of the program this year, the City is inviting residents to share their feedback on the School Walking Routes signs to see how they affect the way people travel to school and through school zones and how they might be improved.
  
• Continued to work with the City’s committees and community partners on education and awareness campaigns: Throughout the year, the City has worked with the Road Safety Committee, Mississauga Cycling Advisory Committee, Traffic Safety Council, Region of Peel and Peel Regional Police on education and awareness campaigns to encourage safe travel behaviour while using Mississauga roads.

To learn more about road safety in Mississauga and how the City is taking action to prevent road collisions, visit mississauga.ca/roadsafety and mississauga.ca/visionzero.

Tags

• Public Safety
• Roads and Traffic