The City has made major changes concerning traffic around Queen’s Park with the instalment of three new traffic control signals with pedestrian crosswalks. These crosswalks were installed to help eliminate possible accidents and allow pedestrians to safely cross from Queen’s Park to adjoining areas.
The crosswalks were installed at three notorious jaywalking areas around Queen’s Park, which were determined by a study conducted by the TTC in April 2019.
Two of the pedestrian traffic control signals have already been activated, while the third one is currently under construction. It is planned to be activated by the end of the month.
Pedestrian crossings in these areas were first proposed back in December 2019. Transportation Services of Toronto wrote to The Varsity that the “three mid-block pedestrian traffic control signals are expected to improve pedestrian connectivity in the area and enhance safety for pedestrians, motorists and people cycling under existing and future conditions.”
In 2017, an investigation conducted by The Varsity found that there were four major road accidents around Queen’s Park between 2006 and 2016. At the time, students expressed concerns about the lack of pedestrian crossings on campus. Initiatives such as the Landmark Project and the installation of the pedestrian crossings were proposed to increase road safety.
A spokesperson for Transportation Services of Toronto wrote, “The City has not undertaken any follow-up studies on Queen’s Park Crescent to confirm that pedestrians are now using the controlled crossings as opposed to crossing mid-block by using gaps in traffic.”
