As pedestrian deaths climb, Hamilton moves closer to changing how streets are designed

The city's public works committee on Wednesday voted unanimously for council to consider a complete streets design manual (CSDM) — a tool that will change the way streets are designed in Hamilton.

Committee members voted 10-0 for council to consider the report.

Trevor Jenkins, project manager for sustainable mobility planning with the city's transportation planning group, says the "complete street" approach encourages street design that considers the needs of road users of all ages and abilities, and then aims to build streets that meet their needs — whether they are walking, cycling, taking transit, driving a private automobile, or delivering goods. 

He added that the approach prioritizes road safety for everyone.

"The underlying focus is enhanced roadway safety for travellers of all ages [and] abilities," Jenkins said at Wednesday's meeting.

"This directly supports the city's Vision Zero policy of having zero roadway deaths or serious injuries."

In addition to laying out guidance for transportation-related plans, such as recommendations for creating low speed intersections, the design manual also touches on climate change initiatives, energy conservation, forestry and land-use plans.

Jenkins says a major underlying factor in the design manual is safety. 

"Safer street designs play an important role in supporting the Vision Zero policy," Jenkins said.

"The design of a street is central to making our transportation systems safer. One street fatality or serious injury is one too many, and working to make complete streets safe is one key aspect of what this design manual will help to achieve."

The manual comes as the city grapples with several collisions in recent times, some of which have resulted in a total of 11 pedestrian and 1 cyclist fatalities this year.

On Tuesday, a 52-year-old man died after he was hit by a car while cycling on the Upper Wentworth bridge, police said. 

Just hours earlier on Tuesday, a four-year-old child was seriously injured after being hit by a pick-up truck at the intersection of Sherman Avenue and Clinton Street.

In May, a DARTS driver who was standing on the sidewalk on Main Street West was hit and killed. In April, renowned Canadian conductor Boris Brott was killed in a hit and run in the city. 

Just a few days after that, council approved a motion that will convert Main Street from one-way to two-way traffic. That's among many other changes on Main Street including:

• the removal of morning and afternoon rush hour restrictions on the north side to encourage parking.
• the removal of the through-street designation to allow for overnight parking near residential blocks.
• outside of the downtown core, where there is existing under-utilized paid parking, remove paid parking meters while retaining a two-hour max time limit during operational hours which typically begin at 8:00 a.m. end at 9:00 p.m., and allow parking for up to 12 hours between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.
• allowing an add additional 2 hour paid parking near City Hall on the north side, and on the north and south side in front of Gage Park.
• further restricting the south side to predominantly "No Stopping Anytime" to assist with HSR route and Public Works needs, while turning existing loading and commercial loading zones to "No Parking Anytime" to allow for short duration loading and curb-side pick-up/drop-offs.

9 fatal pedestrian collisions last year

The city's annual collision report was also presented at Wednesday's meeting.

Mike Field, the city's acting director of transportation operations and maintenance, announced the following results:

• There was a 2.9 per cent increase in total collisions and a 2.1 per cent increase in injury collisions in 2021 compared to 2020. 
• Collisions that led to death or injury decreased by 20.6 per cent in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic conditions in 2019. 
• In 2021, there were 173 pedestrian collisions in the city, 9.9 per cent fewer than 2020, despite an increase in total collisions. 
• In 2021, there was a 5.3 per cent increase in the number of collisions involving cyclists compared to 2020.

Field said "despite the overall decline in the number of collisions, there were nine fatal pedestrian collisions last year, which is the highest in the past five years." 

There were no cyclist fatalities in 2021 on roads over which the city has jurisdiction. However, there was one fatal collision involving a cyclist on a segment of East Port Drive that is under the purview of Ontario's Ministry of Transportation. 

According to the collision report, the city saw 1.5 per cent fewer pedestrian and 1.1 per cent fewer cyclist fatalities when compared to the provincial average. 

Distracted driving a leading factor in injury, fatal collisions

Meanwhile, distracted driving continues to be the leading contributing factor behind injuries and fatal collisions in 2021.

Field said instances of distracted driving, aggressive driving and speeding have increased across Canada and North America during the pandemic.

"Statistics definitely show how these issues impact the safety of Hamilton's transportation network," he said.

He said the city is in the process of undertaking a comprehensive review of the existing Vision Zero Action Plan that was approved in 2019. 

Residents encouraged about safer streets

Ward 3 councillor, Nrinder Nann, who chaired Wednesday's committee meeting, said the public support received through consultations and an online survey were all in the 90 per cent range, adding that this is "definitely [an] indication that residents are encouraged" about the safer streets plan. 

"To see this design manual come to fruition, I think it speaks to hopefulness, a sense of hope in our communities that the future of our renewed public realm and our roadways is something to look forward to and will foster livable communities across the entire city," Nann said.

"The key here is going to be the implementation," Nann said, as she questioned what the safer streets tool would mean in terms of a capital financing plan and the city's existing master plan on road priorities.

Brian Hollingsworth, director of transportation, planning and parking said there are instances where there are no increased costs.

"It's actually a saving, because the less wide a road is and the less asphalt there is, the less costs there are, both in capital and ongoing operating and maintenance costs," he said.

"What this guide does is it helps us plan better for those major projects as opposed to figuring out at the last minute, which sometimes increased costs in itself. So, we can set the budget right from the start."

With council's approval, the next steps, according to Jenkins, are to have the manual used for designing streets going forward, host training sessions for city staff this fall, develop a resident guide for public education and to monitor implementation.