A cyclist was hit and killed at the intersection of Lansdowne and Davenport this morning. Police and paramedics responded to a call at 630 am this morning. When emergency units arrived the cyclist, who has yet to be identified, had no vital signs.
Police are looking for a red or burgundy van with damage to the front end that left the scene.
ARC, Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists will hold a memorial on November 30. More details to follow.
ARC, Advocacy for Respect for Cyclist held a memorial ride for recently deceased cyclist Mike Rankin. Mike, a long time courier was killed when a cab went through a yellow light, sending him into the middle of University Avenue.
A small group of cyclists met at Bloor and Spadina at 8:00 am and started a slow ride across Bloor to Jarvis. At Yonge street it was decided to head south as the ride had started late and some participants were worried they would have to go to work before the ceremony could finish.
Police, while frustrated with the speed of the ride, refused to cork the intersection to speed the ride along. Police blocked one lane of University so a banner could be unfurled that stated “A cyclist was killed here last week.
Participants took to the street for a minute of silence. A ghost bike was placed in the middle island of University Avenue where a makeshift memorial, complete with flowers and the remains of Mike’s shattered helmet.
The helmet was found in the garbage with some of Mike’s personal belongings the day after he died. Police have since said that they were responsible for disposing of his belongings and have since given a half-hearted apology.
Police have decided that charges will not be laid against the cabbie that killed Mike. They made no apology for this.
Toronto Police Traffic Services has made it really easy to file complaints about bad behaviour by drivers. You can now submit the complaint via email by following this link;
http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/traffic/tps_358-online_driving_complaint_form.pdf
It opens as a PDF and you should be able to email it right from your desktop. Make sure you read all of the cautions. Key is that you are able to identify the driver. The police are under no obligation to take any action with respect to your report. Never embellish your reports. You do not need to name the section of the HTA you claim the driver violated.
What if I cannot identify the driver? It may be worthwhile still sending the report but ensure you indicate that you are not able to identify the driver. It may be helpful in the case of a serial bad driver. Do keep a copy of what you sent in. Same goes for any notes you took.
If you have been hit on the road or your life threatened do not wait to get home to file a report. CALL 911 as soon as it is safe to do so.
http://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2009/12/penalties-toughened-for-serious-traffic-offences.html
December 10, 2009 1:00 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Advocacy For Respect For Cyclists (ARC) will hold a memorial for Harold Donald Bilodeau, 66 years old, cyclist killed at Spadina and Nassau after a collision with a streetcar when turning left across its path, and following many days in the hospital. Bilodeau is the third Toronto cyclist to be killed in one month.
What happened to Bilodeau could happen to any cyclist. Ron Freeman, a former Toronto bike messenger, commented on the complicated and confusing traffic signal design at this intersection: “…even the most patient and law abiding … yet unsuspecting… cyclist can EASILY omit the relatively quiet, fast-moving southbound streetcar from the traffic mix and succumb to the urge to get over the rails fast… I urge you to go there and experience it yourself… watch the ‘transit’ signal which flashes green or red to the streetcar operator…. then observe how the ‘u-turn’ or ‘left turn’ signal operates…”
ARC holds memorials for cyclists killed on the roads of Toronto. We do not make judgment about the whys and wherefores: we recognise that with the advantages of cycling come certain dangers, not least from the larger machines we ride among. We recognize that as cyclists we have to take special care in an ecology geared toward granting priority to the passage of motorised vehicles.
At the same time, we recognise that at the intersection of Spadina and Nassau, like many other signalised intersections in the city, cyclists are often left to sort their own way through the cracks: pedestrians have buttons to push to give them right of passage; cars have magnetic coils in the road that are activated by the hulk of metal when the car passes above; streetcars have special electronic activators that keep a light green ahead to allow passage.
Bicycle riders need the same level of attention from the planners of city transportation and infrastructure. ARC calls on the city to pay attention to this serious lack of planning around the needs of cyclists, not least as a tribute to the memory of cyclists like Harold Donald Bilodeau.
Memorial date and time: Meet Thursday Sept 10 at 7 pm, parkette at the corner of Spadina and Bloor, for a brief ride south to the crash site, departing by 7:15.
Copyright © 2013 Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists. Powered by WordPress, Bombay theme by Design Nudge.
