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Toronto sees three cycling deaths in two weeks

If there's one record that Toronto cyclists aren't exactly keen for their city to set, it's that of the least safe city in Canada for cyclists.

The group that makes Toronto "ghost bike" memorials says that with the recent surge in fatalities, they're running out of bikes. (Photo Credit: erik.aldrich via Compfight cc )
The group that makes Toronto “ghost bike” memorials says that with the recent fatalities, they’re running out of bikes. (Photo Credit: erik.aldrich via Compfight cc )

If there’s one record that Toronto cyclists aren’t exactly keen for their city to set, it’s that of the least safe city in Canada for cyclists. With three cycling-related deaths in a two-week period, though, it’s certainly beginning to feel like it.

Numbers released by the Toronto Police Service underscore that feeling, too. In total, police have recorded 31 road deaths in the city since 2015 began, and in addition to those three cycling fatalities, 21 pedestrians have also been killed. It’s a spike that could make 2015 a record year for road casualties, Metronews.ca reports, with such alarming statistics coming so early in the calendar year. For context, the numbers released in 2014 totalled 11 deaths, including cyclists—for the entire year.

Impaired driving has been a causal problem, police said. But for those engaged in bike advocacy, cycling deaths indicate broader, more systemic issues in the city. Representatives from Cycle Toronto, for example, point to better infrastructure for cyclists as a preventative measure going forward. With a plan in place to extend the Richmond Street and Adelaide Street bike lanes to Parliament Street, the political will to do better, compared with past years, at least seems to exist.

Still, the recent death toll is too high and it marks a much more urgent need for change, advocates say.

“It’s tragic, quite frankly,” Cycle Toronto executive director Jared Kolb told Metronews.ca. “No one should have to risk their lives by simply going out for a bike ride.” But there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done before any change is seen, he emphasized. “We think that city has really got to get serious with building a citywide grid of protected bike lanes and funding cycling infrastructure,” Kolb said. “It’s just taking far too long.”

Memorial rides are planned for the two most recent fatalities on Toronto’s asphalt: Zhi Yong Kang and another 26-year-old cyclist, whose name has been withheld. Meanwhile, another set of numbers similarly attests to the worsening problem for cyclists on Toronto’s roads: due to the frequency of those fatal crashes, Advocacy for Respect for Cycling, the group behind the city’s “ghost bike” memorials, is running out of bikes.