WHEN A 16-YEAR-OLD boy was struck by a car at York Mills Road and Fenn Avenue last year, the incident acted as a catalyst for change. Residents decided something needed to be done to make the area safer. After all, from June 2003 to June 2008, 289 accidents on York Mills Road occurred between Old Yonge Street and Bayview Avenue.
“If a kid like me who presses the Walk button at the lights and waits for the sign to change can get hit all of a sudden, then maybe there is something wrong with the system,” said Nicholas Yim, the Crescent School student involved in the June 2008 accident.
The St. Andrew’s and York Mills Ratepayers Associations have met three times with Coun. Cliff Jenkins, representatives from North York Traffic Operations and local police and are particularly concerned since there are two schools, Owen Public School and St. Andrew’s Junior High School, within a few blocks of York Mills Road and Fenn Avenue.
Several new safety measures have since been enacted. Since drivers often speed on York Mills Road, signs to remind them of the speed limit, 50 kilometres per hour, have been posted near the intersection. More school crossing signs have also been erected in the area. Electronic boards showing drivers their actual speed have occasionally been put up to serve as a wake- up call to drivers, and police officers have increased surveillance in the area.
Statistics show that five out of eight accidents that take place in the neighbourhood involve drivers who live in the area. Police explained that people who are most familiar with the streets typically speed the most.
“I think we should all be aware of how ridiculous this is. All of us who live in the neighbourhood have a responsibility to other residents in the area. Therefore, we should be the most, not the least, careful,” added Yim.
