Dear TTC Board members,
TTCriders is a membership-based organization of transit users. We are writing to ask you to advance automated camera enforcement to prevent vehicles from illegally passing streetcars when streetcar doors open to pick up or drop off passengers.
On Sunday, September 8, 2024 the Toronto Police Services reported that a woman was struck by a driver as she was exiting a streetcar at the intersection of Bathurst and College. She was transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries and the driver remained on scene.
The TTC Board has passed several motions over the last ten years directing staff to explore the use of cameras to prevent such collisions and ensure transit rider safety. In September 2019, the TTC adopted a motion to request the Minister of Transportation to enact amendments to the Highway Traffic Act, 1990 to permit the operation of streetcar enforcement cameras to monitor and enforce traffic violations, as well as to restate the TTC Board's previous requests about enabling auto-ticketing in transit priority lanes.
In 2021, the provincial government passed the Moving Ontarians More Safely Act, authorizing the use of an automated street car enforcement system. The TTC has not yet reported back about potential next steps to implement an automated enforcement system.
We also encourage you to request once again that the province of Ontario allow for the automated enforcement of transit priority lanes. TTC streetcars are already equipped with
forward-facing cameras. A Washington report found that camera enforcement was the most efficient way to enforce transit priority. San Francisco, New York, and London use automated camera enforcement, with New York using a mix of on-bus and stationary on-street cameras. Camera enforcement of bus lanes in New York resulted in increased bus speeds and ridership. We urge you to act quickly to keep transit users safe by implementing automated enforcement.
Sincerely,
TTCriders
