Item - 2019.TE6.65

The Toronto and East York Community Council:

1. Directed the General Manager, Transportation Services, to study strategies to improve safety at the Gerrard Street East and Pembroke Street intersection, in consultation with the local residents' association, and to report back to the September 16, 2019 meeting of Toronto and East York Community Council.

In recent months, several local residents have reached out with concerns regarding pedestrian, cyclist, and motorist safety at the intersection of Gerrard Street East and Pembroke Street.

Residents have sent communications to my office, stating that they frequently observe cars, passing through the intersection along Gerrard, at high speeds. This speeding activity is often observed to be in violation of an activated pedestrian crossing. Residents have also brought forward serious sight line and visibility concerns, affecting all intersection users. There have, additionally, been numerous complaints regarding the location of the pedestrian crossing activation button on Pembroke, which is located several feet south of the crossing.  Pedestrians who activate the crosswalk, are not visible to cyclists and motorists approaching the intersection.  Pedestrians must then take time to walk forward and reach the corner, before proceeding through the intersection, leaving them extremely vulnerable to cars and cyclists. These combined concerns have created a condition that has left residents and their families feeling unsafe.

My staff have engaged in two site visits over the past two years, in an attempt to address the issues at this intersection. These site visits included the Garden District Residents Association, and Transportation staff.  While these visits have resulted in some helpful trimming back of vegetation, there has not yet been a coordinated response, from Transportation Services, to the safety concerns expressed by intersection users.  In order to have a more thorough understanding of the traffic safety conditions affecting this area, and how they may be remedied, I believe that a comprehensive safety review must be performed. I therefore recommend the following: