Advocates are calling for better pedestrian infrastructure following Quebec vehicle attack

Following a vehicle attack in Quebec, that killed two pedestrians, and injured nine others, discussions around road safety are at the forefront. Some are calling for better pedestrian infrastructure to be put in place, to separate pedestrians and vehicles.

Urban and Regional Planning professor Raktim Mitra says cities across Canada lack the growth of infrastructure needed to separate vehicles and pedestrians, as population numbers grow in suburban areas.

“Many of these high-risk areas are located in our suburban neighbourhoods,” said Raktim Mitra, associate professor of urban and regional planning at Toronto Metropolitan University.

“People in these neighbourhoods are more exposed to risks of pedestrian injuries and fatalities as a result.”

Mitra says turning vehicles are a significant cause of pedestrian collisions in an urban setting. He says the majority of the collisions are preventable but only preventable with proper pedestrian infrastructure in place.

“Good quality sidewalks are absolutely essential. Good crossings are also important. Well-designed traffic intersections that pay attention to safe pedestrian crossings is an important design element that often lacks in inner suburban concepts,” explained Mitra.

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Winnipeg saw a record number of pedestrian fatalities in 2022. Out of 19 pedestrian-involved collisions, 12 people were killed. In 2021, there were 6.

Winnipegger Mel Marginet understands what it’s like to be hit by a car. She was hit by a driver at an intersection a year and a half ago. She says the way Winnipeg streets were designed, combined with the increase in the size of the vehicles and the reluctance to reduce speeds leads to these collisions.

“This is kind of a problem that we are becoming more aware of, but a lot of it is kind of happening under the surface,” said Marginet. “You can’t have vehicles moving at 50 km/h in complex situations and expect that you are not going to have collisions and death.”

Marginet says she would like to see speeds dropped from 50 – 30 kh/h in residential areas, but Traffic Safety Researcher and Activist Christian Sweryda says the majority of the collisions involving pedestrians are unrelated to speed, and other factors like backing up.

“A lot of our educational campaigns really need to focus on just general errors that don’t often involve speed and a lot of the conversations around speed are distracting from that, creating the false perception that lower speeds make the roads safer, in which they don’t,” said Sweryda.