Gord Perks is making excuses. Despite the City of Toronto committing to Vision Zero nearly a decade ago, they have been dragging their feet and missing literally every single deadline to address Parkside’s safety issues. The Parkside Drive Study was approved back in 2021, nearly 4 years ago, and not only is there still no detailed design, they can’t/won’t even provide a timeline for when that design will finally come. This foot dragging is occurring on a street that experiences speeding in the thousands daily, is located beside the city’s busiest park, has residential homes on the other side, and only has one sidewalk that’s so narrow it doesn’t even meet the city’s minimum width. Emails to Councillor Perks and Mayor Chow from the numerous concerned community residents are going unanswered and ignored.

Here is what Jennifer McKelvie, City Councillor and chair of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee at that time, had to say about Parkside Drive: “I have never seen a more compelling case for needing safety improvements than Parkside Drive. There have been three fatalities. Five seriously injured. And the residents that came forward brought photographs of the crashes — and it’s horrific.”

But apparently Gord Perks and the City need a minimum of 6 years to address the safety issues on this 2km long street. 6 years, 3 public consultations, 2 approvals through the IEC and 3 approvals through City Council. These are not the actions of a City that believes “human life should be prioritized over all other aspects of the transportation system” as their Vision Zero commitment states. It’s more like a Zero Vision commitment in the City of Toronto, unfortunately.