Marchers call for safer roads 2 weeks after crash near High Park kills older couple

More than 100 people walked down a major road at the eastern edge of High Park on Tuesday to demand safer streets two weeks after a crash killed an older couple.

With a Toronto police escort, the demonstrators marched on Parkside Drive from Bloor Street West to Spring Road. They sang and chanted. 

At the T intersection of Parkside Drive and Spring Road, the demonstrators marked a moment of silence for Fatima Avila, 69, who died in hospital, and Valdemar Avila, 71, who died at the scene of the crash on Oct. 12. Five vehicles were involved.

Ashley Avila, their daughter, was at the march and said the death of her parents is devastating. She called on the city to improve road conditions.

"Something needs to be done about Parkside Drive. The cars do come down here with quite a force," she said. 

"I know they have been advocating for quite a long time. If somebody would have listened and answered some of their calls, this tragedy wouldn't have happened.".

Avila said she became emotional when she looked at the large makeshift memorial for her parents near the crash site.

"It brings me back to two weeks ago, the moment I try and feel what my parents were feeling in those last moments," she said. "It's the toughest thing I have to do." 

The crash happened four days before her three-year old son's birthday party.

"It was tough as a first birthday without their grandparents. And we have a lot more of those coming, unfortunately."

Avila said her parents were hard-working people who came to Canada with only a suitcase.

"They were good people," she said. "They built a great life in Canada."

Police have not yet laid any charges

Toronto police have said a 38-year-old man was driving a 2013 BMW 320i southbound on Parkside Drive at high speed when he collided with the Avilas' 2003 Toyota Matrix, which was waiting in traffic.

The initial collision caused a chain reaction, with three other vehicles crashing into each other. Police have not yet laid any charges but said the investigation is continuing.

Avila said she has already in her heart forgiven the driver, something which she said her father would have wanted, but she still wants justice.

"This was needless. This wasn't necessary. From what I've been told, there was a high rate of speed. And when there's an action, there's a reaction. And some sort of justice needs to be done where he needs to learn his consequences of his actions."

The Parkside community has been advocating for a safer road for years.

Genevieve Lacroix, an organizer of the march, said the community is working with local politicians to improve safety on Parkside Drive.

"There is still a need for other measures to be taken to improve safety," she said. "The process is very slow. It felt like pushing water uphill for the longest time."

City has plan to make street safer, councillor says

In a statement on Wednesday, Oct. 13, the day after the crash, Coun. Gord Perks, who represents Ward 4, Parkdale High-Park, has said some parts of a city plan to make Parkside Drive safer have been implemented. These changes include pedestrian protection barriers installed at the underpass on the south end of Parkside.

"Every day, people who live near Parkside have to contend with unsafe conditions. I will be continuing to work with community leaders to accelerate and expand our plan," he said.

Perks said Parkside Drive is a major arterial road that the city's classification system doesn't allow for a speed limit below 50 kilometres per hour. But there are several major arterial roads in Toronto with speed limits below 50.

One way that the limit can be reduced is through a motion brought forward by a councillor. Perks has not put that motion forward. He did not respond to a request by CBC Toronto for comment on Tuesday.