This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy.Brightly coloured armbands have become the most recent flashpoint in Toronto’s bitter debate about pedestrian deaths, as fatalities and injuries on the city’s streets continue to mount and safety advocates accuse police of papering over lax enforcement by handing out accessories.
“It was shameful, embarrassing and frankly dangerous that the police were suggesting to seniors – who make up the demographic who are most seriously injured and killed on our city streets – that armbands are the answer to road safety,” said Josh Matlow, city councillor for Ward 12. “It sends a message that the onus is on the potential victims.”
In a public report ahead of last Thursday’s police services board meeting, Chief Saunders revealed that his force does not have a full-time traffic enforcement team. That has contributed to a sharp drop in the number of tickets handed out annually, to roughly 200,000 last year from about 700,000 in 2010.
A statement from Mayor John Tory’s spokesperson Don Peat said the mayor was committed to the city’s Vision Zero 2.0 plan for reducing traffic fatalities, pointing to lowered speed limits and sped-up road redesigns.