RE: IE19.1 - Cycling Network Plan: Ellesmere Complete Street Improvements
Dear members of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee,
I am writing to you today to ask that Toronto City Council adopt IE19.1 and the recommendations to move forward with the improvements proposed in the Ellesmere Complete Street project in Scarborough.
As a transit group, TTCriders’s goals for commuters absolutely align with those of pedestrians. Namely, the Ellesmere Complete Street project will reduce traffic congestion by giving people more options to safely move around - cyclists can remain separated from vehicles. Filling in the gaps in the sidewalk network, particularly east of Morrish Rd., will limit the number of pedestrians who cross mid-block on this road due to the vast expanses between marked crosswalks today. For commuters aiming merely to cross the street in order to catch a bus, completing the sidewalks, improving intersection designs (forcing slower turns), and adding more crosswalks would significantly reduce the potential for collisions on a 50 km/h street where the current average speed is closer to 60 km/h.
Additionally, this road will be the future site of the Durham-Scarborough BRT, expected to have a ridership of 38,400 daily passengers by 2041 and will improve service and connectivity between the regions. This is especially relevant for the commuter-heavy University of Toronto Scarborough Campus, and it will also serve as a major anchor to other destinations and transit connections such as the SHN hospital, the Meadoway, the STC+the future Scarborough subway extension, and 2 GO stations via the Highland Creek Trail. Making this road safer for pedestrians now is critical as the area densifies and more congestion in general becomes imminent. This is a huge opportunity to not only provide better cycling connections within Scarborough, but to improve the experience of transit riders as well.
Sincerely,
TTCriders
TTCriders is a membership-based organization of transit users.
