Comment 31030

By rusty (registered) - website | Posted May 13, 2009 at 08:28:36

The Toronto proposition calls for banning right turns on red for just a few intersections where it has been suggested that this design may have been the cause of several accidents (this has not been proven).

As a driver I remember coming to Canada and loving this idea. As a pedestrian though I hated it. Same with advanced greens (yes Michelle I remember the Ottawa/King intersection well :) ). The experience of crossing te road in Canada is nothing like I remember it in Britain. In England the delimeters are clear, there is no mixing of the traffic. To me the idea that a driver can be 2 feet from your shins - and your children's bodies - with his foot on the gas, inching towards you as you take your time to cross is just asking for trouble. What if the driver's foot slips? What if my child runs back the way he came to retrieve something he dropped? As a parent I have to be so wary when I'm crossing. I'm not kidding about these once a day car confrontations (I had one yesterday with a guy at a stop sign. He turned onto my lane as I was halfway across with the kids, and almost side swiped me. I made him stop so I could give him a lecture :) ).

While I don't generally like the idea of making driving rules too prescriptive - there is evidence to suggest that less rules create better driving habits - it's clear that we need to change a few things to make it safer to cross.

Good discussion here.

Cheers

Ben

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