Item - 2023.IE7.9

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council request the Federal government consider developing and implementing motor vehicle and motor carrier safety regulations and standards that require the use of new and enhanced vehicle safety technology including sensors for heavy trucks to support public safety.

2. City Council request the General Manager, Fleet Services, report to City Council by the third quarter of 2024 on the feasibility of requiring side guards on heavy trucks operating in the City of Toronto, including the City's fleet.

On Wednesday, January 16, 2019, a man died of injuries after being struck by a dump truck while crossing Lawrence Avenue, between Allen Road and Marlee Avenue and on Tuesday, September 10, 2019, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a cement truck at the intersection of Yonge Street and Erskine Avenue.

I subsequently moved motion NY8.50 on September 16, 2019 requesting City Staff to develop a comprehensive Construction Traffic Safety Management Plan in the Yonge-Eglinton Area that became known as the "Construction Hub".

Despite these efforts and due to the unprecedented level of construction activity that has only increased in the four years since, once again and tragically on Monday, October 16, 2023, another fatality occurred when a pedestrian was struck by a dump truck making a turn at Davisville Avenue and Mount Pleasant Road.

Heavy vehicles present a significant hazard on our City streets and are often involved in serious collisions with Vulnerable Road Users such as pedestrians and cyclists. The reduced visibility of Vulnerable Road Users and for the drivers themselves due to the design of heavy vehicles puts the Vulnerable Road Users at a higher risk of injury or fatality.

Greater action must be taken to prioritize the safety of our Vulnerable Road Users in the face of a growing number of heavy trucks on our urban streets as a result of the ever increasing construction activity within our City.

The federal government is responsible for regulations that pertain to the manufacturing and importation of motor vehicles or equipment under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, as well as the safety fitness of interprovincial and international motor carriers under the Motor Vehicle Transport Act.

Addressing this issue by regulating and encouraging the use of proven vehicle safety technologies, including design optimization for front-end and side-impact protection, and sensors for collision detection and prevention already commonplace in passenger vehicles would help reduce injuries and fatalities of Vulnerable Road Users around heavy vehicles on our busy City streets.