Park named after Toronto mother struck by van in 2014

A Toronto parkette has a new name — it now honours the life of Erica Stark, a woman who died in 2014 after a minivan jumped a sidewalk curb and struck her.

The parkette at Pape and Danforth was re-named in a ceremony on Saturday, and will be a permanent tribute to the mother of three boys.

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Neighbours and friends wrote personal messages to Stark that were put into planting holes along with flowers in the parkette. The messages were written on organic material and will break down over time.  

Erica's mother Linda Bissinger said it was a day of mixed emotions. Bissinger said Erica was quiet, but was involved in just about everything in the community.

"It's a mixed occasion," she said. "It's lovely having the park dedicated to her, it's a reminder for everybody though, you know, she's gone and it was such a tragic thing, the way she died."

Erica's husband David Stark said he also had mixed emotions.

"I'm delighted but I'm also sad. I'm delighted because I live in a great community and Erica was very special and she touched the lives of many people in Riverdale," he said. "And I'm sad because Erica's death was completely preventable."

In November 2014, Erica was at Midland Ave. and Gilder Rd. when a minivan jumped the curb and struck her.

Stark said there should be harsher penalties when a careless driver takes the life of, or seriously injures, what he calls a vulnerable person on the road: pedestrians, cyclists, road workers or people in wheelchairs.

Currently in Ontario, the maximum sentence for careless driving is six months in jail, a two-year licence suspension and a $2,000 fine, even if the driver's actions resulted in the death of a person.

"I feel, and many other people in this city feel, that those penalties are inadequate," he said.

He's part of a group that has been advocating for changes to the Ontario Highway Traffic Act.

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