Having safe, connected and convenient cycling routes in the city is important, but it is equally as important that we properly consult with the local communities. Due to COVID-19, we have been unable to adequately consult on this project to move forward for the 2020 year. There have been a number of concerns raised by the community that we need to address before construction. We will be reaching out to the community again about consultation soon.

In 2019, I began discussions with residents in the Wallace Emerson community about traffic concernswhich had been expressed. In order to address these concerns, we created the Wallace Emerson Traffic Management Committee, which included local residents, Traffic Operations staff from the City and my office. Together, we looked at a wide range of options to make this community safer, including changing parking regulations, changing street directions and installing speed bumps. When we brought these ideas back to the community for their input, they received overwhelming support. With that support, I brought these recommendations forward at Toronto City Hall for approval in March. These improvements include:

These improvements are scheduled for implementation in Spring 2021.

Bike Share has conducted their annual expansion, branching further north in our Ward and providing more stations in the highest use communities. In Ward 9, we have 9 new stations:

Residents have contacted our office requesting we review a loading zone on St. Helens Avenue. Following these requests, I issued a review of the street, to identify new spaces for residents to park. The result of this study was that by switching parking to the west side of the street, we could secure 23additional parking spaces.

Speed limits are not a suggestion, they are the law, and it is far too common to see drivers risk their lives and the lives of others by speeding on our streets. To help change this culture, the City has received provincial approval to use Automated Speed Enforcement Cameras in community safety zones near schools. The City has been utilizing 50 cameras across the City (two per Ward), choosing locations based on traffic and speeding data. During their first two weeks of operation, ASEs around Toronto issued over 7,600 tickets. This is an important new program that I hope we can expand throughout the ward and city to create safer streets. In October, we will see the Ward 9 ASEs relocated to Laughton Avenue near Talbot Street and Ruskin Avenue west of Perth Avenue.

You can learn more about this program at Toronto.ca/ASE.

The expansion of the Bloor West Bikeway is an important cycling route, connecting people from Runnymede Road into the heart of the city. While this project was originally scheduled for 2022, I worked with the City's cycling staff and my Councillor colleagues along the route to expedite the construction. This project is nearing completion and creates a safe, connected and separated bikeway. I want to thank the community and local businesses for their input through the extensive consultation processes to make sure local needs were taken into account.

I am pleased to inform you that as a result of my efforts and much negotiation between the City of Toronto and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), the St. Veronica Catholic School staff parking lot is now open to the public. The keys to the parking lot were delivered by the TCDSB to the City's Parks, Forestry and Recreation division last week.

The parking lot will be opened daily by Mary McCormick Community Centre staff between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.  Residents, visitors, arena users and community centre patrons will be able to access the parking spaces during the prescribed times at no cost. However, please note that the lot will be locked overnight. I am confident that this new parking opportunity will help ease parking pressures in the Brockton Triangle.

The City of Toronto will continue to accelerate construction projects and co-ordinate road closures as it performs significant construction work on the City's roads, sewers and watermains to improve Toronto's aging infrastructure. 

The City is taking action to minimize traffic congestion during the construction season by extending hours for key projects, bundling projects, implementing signal-timing changes on parallel routes and enhancing signage at work locations. Work hours will be extended for 32 construction projects, including overnight work at nine locations and 24/7 work at another seven locations. 

The City will invest almost $700 million to maintain and upgrade its infrastructure, including an estimated $310 million for roads, expressways and bridges, $310 million for sewers and watermains, and $70 million for basement flooding protection in 2017. 

Major projects planned for this year include:

• demolition of the eastbound ramp from the Gardiner Expressway to York/Bay/Yonge Streets and building a new ramp at Lower Simcoe Street
• watermain work, TTC streetcar track replacement and road resurfacing on Wellington Street from Church Street to York Street
• TTC track replacement, watermain work and road resurfacing on Dundas Street from Yonge Street to Church Street
• road resurfacing on Birchmount Road from McNicoll Avenue to Steeles Avenue East
• road resurfacing and watermain work on Don Mills Road from north of Lawrence Avenue to Wynford Drive
• road resurfacing on Burnhamthorpe Road from Dundas Street West to Martin Grove Road
• road resurfacing on Lake Shore Boulevard from Leslie Street to Woodbine Avenue
• bridge rehabilitation work for Queensway Bridge over the Humber River, and
• TTC track work at the intersection of Queen Street and McCaul Street.

As a result of the construction, it is expected that the City will complete about 130 kilometres of road resurfacing work and 310 kilometres of sewer and watermain work in 2017. 

This work is part of the City's comprehensive, co-ordinated strategy to rehabilitate and upgrade Toronto's roads, transit and underground infrastructure for current and future needs.

The City continues its efforts to fill potholes. More than 185,000 potholes were repaired last year. Residents are asked to use the City's online service at http://www.toronto.ca/311 to report potholes so crews can be assigned to fix them quickly. On the web page, simply click on "roads" to create a pothole service request or click "open 311API and mobile apps" to download a mobile app to your smartphone.

To help motorists plan their way around, the City has a web-based map at http://www.toronto.ca/roadrestrictions identifying ongoing and emergency road construction, travel conditions on Toronto roads and special events that affect roads.

Information about the City's planned capital construction work affecting roads is available at http://www.toronto.ca/inview.

The City of Toronto will be introducing 45 new measures in 2017 as part of its Vision Zero Road Safety Plan targeted at eliminating fatalities and reducing serious injuries on our roads.

Among the initiatives that the City is introducing immediately include:

• creation of Seniors Safety Zones to be implemented at 12 high-priority locations, with increased pedestrian walk-times, enhanced signage and enhanced pavement markings
• implementation of red light cameras at 76 new locations
• accessible pedestrian signal installations at 20 additional locations
• geometric safety engineering improvements at 13 locations
• road safety audits at 14 high-risk collision locations
• expansion of the school Watch Your Speed Program at 20 additional locations
• speed reductions along 32 additional corridors
• expansion of the mobile Watch Your Speed Program – including 12 additional pole-mounted speed display units in the city's central core, and
• implementation of increased pedestrian walk times at 50 additional signalized intersections.

More information about the specific measures being implemented and locations is available in a backgrounder that can be found by clicking here.

The City has also created a website that provides information about the City's Vision Zero Road Safety Plan.  It includes a mapping tool showing safety measures in place and future planned work as well as safety tips for all road users aimed at making our streets safer. You can view the maps and other information by clicking here.

In 2016, there were 77 fatalities in Toronto, including 43 pedestrian deaths – up from 38 pedestrian fatalities in 2015.

The City's Road Safety Plan, approved by Toronto City Council in 2016, contains a series of measures and strategies aimed at reducing deaths and serious injuries on Toronto streets as well as improving safety for all road users.

The City of Toronto is reminding residents and businesses about the levels of snow-clearing service that the City provides.

Responding to large snowfalls requires a co-ordinated approach by the City’s staff and contractors to clear Toronto's streets and sidewalks.

As soon as the snow begins, Transportation Services sends its fleet of salt trucks to the expressways and the main roads. The salt trucks then move to local roads. If the City receives 2.5 centimetres of snow, the plows are sent to the expressways and, if five centimetres falls, plows also go to the main roads, with plowing taking place intermittently for the duration of the storm. 

When the snow stops, if the snow accumulation has reached eight centimetres, plows are sent to local roads. Residents are asked not to call 311 during the storm to ask when their street will be plowed. The City will clear the local roads between 14 and 16 hours after the snow stops falling.

The City will clear snow from sidewalks on roads with high pedestrian traffic and on bus routes where it is mechanically possible to do so after two centimetres of snow have fallen and from the remaining roads after eight centimetres have fallen. In the central core of the city, property owners are required to clear their sidewalks of snow within 12 hours after a storm. More information about sidewalk snow clearing in Toronto and a map of where the service takes place are available at http://www.toronto.ca/transportation/snow/sidewalks. 

The City will only open/clear driveway windrows where it is mechanically possible to do so after eight centimetres of snow have fallen. Typically, driveway windrows are opened between one and two hours of the road being plowed. The service is meant to only open up a width of about three metres – not the full width of the driveway. This program does not take place in the central core of the city due to narrow road widths and on-street parking.

The City has created a webpage that enables residents to see the location of city plows, sidewalk plows and salt trucks, and noting when their street was serviced by the City's winter operations crews. The webpage can be accessed at http://www.toronto.ca/plowTO.

The City has identified a priority network of bike lanes and cycle tracks in the downtown core that will receive enhanced winter maintenance this winter, including snow plowing and salting to improve safety for cyclists.

The City of Toronto’s levels of service for snow clearing meet the provincial standards for municipalities and road authorities. These levels of service were adopted by Toronto City Council in 2013. 

The City has 600 snow plows, 300 sidewalk plows and 200 salt trucks ready to tackle the winter season.