Item - 2024.IE15.9
Tracking Status
- City Council adopted this item on July 24 and 25, 2024 with amendments.
- This item was considered by Infrastructure and Environment Committee on July 3, 2024 and was adopted with amendments. It will be considered by City Council on July 24 and 25, 2024.
IE15.9 - Building a Permanent Safety Barrier Along the Leaside Bridge to Prevent Suicide Attempts
- Decision Type:
- ACTION
- Status:
- Amended
- Wards:
- 14 - Toronto - Danforth, 15 - Don Valley West
City Council Decision
City Council on July 24 and 25, 2024, adopted the following:
1. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services to report to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee by the first quarter of 2025 on the feasibility of implementing a permanent barrier on the Leaside Bridge to improve public safety and mitigate suicide attempts.
Background Information (Committee)
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2024/ie/bgrd/backgroundfile-247251.pdf
Motions (City Council)
That City Council amend Infrastructure and Environment Committee by deleting the words “on September 27, 2024” and replacing them with "by the first quarter of 2025" so that it now reads as follows:
1. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services to report to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee on September 27, 2024, by the first quarter of 2025 on the feasibility of implementing a permanent barrier on the Leaside Bridge to improve public safety and mitigate suicide attempts.
Vote (Amend Item) Jul-25-2024 7:41 PM
| Result: Carried | Majority Required - IE15.9 - Pasternak - motion 1 |
|---|---|
| Total members that voted Yes: 19 | Members that voted Yes are Alejandra Bravo, Jon Burnside, Shelley Carroll, Lily Cheng, Olivia Chow, Mike Colle, Paula Fletcher, Parthi Kandavel, Ausma Malik, Nick Mantas, Josh Matlow, Jennifer McKelvie, Chris Moise, Amber Morley, Jamaal Myers, Frances Nunziata (Chair), James Pasternak, Gord Perks, Dianne Saxe |
| Total members that voted No: 2 | Members that voted No are Paul Ainslie, Stephen Holyday |
| Total members that were Absent: 4 | Members that were absent are Brad Bradford, Vincent Crisanti, Anthony Perruzza, Michael Thompson |
Vote (Adopt Item as Amended) Jul-25-2024 7:42 PM
| Result: Carried | Majority Required - IE15.9 - Adopt the Item as amended |
|---|---|
| Total members that voted Yes: 20 | Members that voted Yes are Paul Ainslie, Alejandra Bravo, Jon Burnside, Shelley Carroll, Lily Cheng, Olivia Chow, Mike Colle, Paula Fletcher, Parthi Kandavel, Ausma Malik, Nick Mantas, Josh Matlow, Jennifer McKelvie, Chris Moise, Amber Morley, Jamaal Myers, Frances Nunziata (Chair), James Pasternak, Gord Perks, Dianne Saxe |
| Total members that voted No: 1 | Members that voted No are Stephen Holyday |
| Total members that were Absent: 4 | Members that were absent are Brad Bradford, Vincent Crisanti, Anthony Perruzza, Michael Thompson |
IE15.9 - Building a Permanent Safety Barrier Along the Leaside Bridge to Prevent Suicide Attempts
- Decision Type:
- ACTION
- Status:
- Amended
- Wards:
- 14 - Toronto - Danforth, 15 - Don Valley West
Committee Recommendations
The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:
1. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services to report to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee on September 27, 2024 on the feasibility of implementing a permanent barrier on the Leaside Bridge to improve public safety and mitigate suicide attempts.
Origin
Summary
On June 16, 2024, a man fell from the Leaside Bridge and landed on an oncoming vehicle on the Don Valley Parkway resulting in a tragic accident, a passenger and the person who fell both succumbed to their injuries. The incident is currently under investigation by Toronto Police Service. Two lives were lost during this event that could have been mitigated by a protective barrier or railing along the bridge. Sadly, there are records of several similar suicide cases that have taken place at this bridge.
In 2003, the City of Toronto originally erected barriers along the Bloor Viaduct, an unfortunately common site for suicide attempts. This action proved to be highly effective at discouraging and preventing people from jumping off the Bloor Viaduct. A study published in 2017 by Toronto Sunnybrook Hospital stated that between 2004 – 2014, only 1 person died after managing to circumvent the Bloor Viaduct barrier.
In 2016, Toronto City Council adopted item MM18.4, which requested “the City Manager, in collaboration with the Medical Officer of Health, the General Manager, Transportation Services, the Toronto Police Services Board and mental health experts, to explore the effectiveness and feasibility of options to prevent suicide deaths from bridges in Toronto and to report back to the Executive Committee in 2017.”
In 2018, Toronto Executive Committee received a report from the Medical Officer of Health which stated that “Transportation Services is planning to review the feasibility of implementing barriers and/or other interventions on priority bridge locations.”
Further study on the Leaside Bridge and its surrounding infrastructure is necessary as a measure to improve public safety and mitigate further tragedies.
Background Information
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2024/ie/bgrd/backgroundfile-247251.pdf
Motions
That the General Manager, Transportation Services be requested to report to the Infastructure and Environment Committee on September 27, 2024.