Elections
Do you support the "Vision Zero" goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries in Hamilton? If so, what specific actions would you take to implement this policy? If not, why not?
Responses to the question: "Do you support the "Vision Zero" goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries in Hamilton? If so, what specific actions would you take to implement this policy? If not, why not?"
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10 Candidate Responses (top)
| Ward 01 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Brief Response | Full Response |
| Allen, Jason | Yes | I have written about the need for a Vision Zero program for many years now, and would fully support such a measure. I would support it by requiring the city to track and publish statistics about accident prone intersections, enabling us to quickly determine where to focus our efforts. The city also needs to fund a Vision Zero office within the traffic department with a mandate for proposing changes to intersections that are a safety hazard. |
| Anderson, Sharon | Yes | Yes. I would work with City staff to develop a network view of this issue and make sure that when reconstruction projects come forward that the design prioritizes achieving Vision Zero. I would refuse to support projects which do not do this work. I would insist that capital project scheduling decisions include consideration of the current level of accidents occurring in a proposed project area. I would vote to make public information on the location of traffic fatalities and injuries throughout the City in an easily accessed format so that residents can make informed judgements on whether the City is doing enough to address issues in their neighbourhood. I would work with my fellow Councillors to develop and fund a program to improve areas in the absence of a reconstruction project being planned for an area. |
| Cole, Sharon | Yes | I believe in the spirit of 'Vision Zero' adopted by a number of municipalities around the globe, which challenges all of us to achieve zero fatalities and serious injuries, by re-thinking road safety. To make human error part of the equation and thereby aim for safer streets through improved education, enforcement, engineering, evaluation and engagement. My initial emphasis would be on engineering, ensuring bike lane designs that have effective barrier protection and warning systems (signage, lighting) to alert drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. |
| Eroglu, Ela | Yes | There is no question about it. I absolutely support the intention behind Vision Zero and eliminating traffic fatalities and injuries on our streets. Cycling is in my platform. I believe dedicated, protected bike lanes should be part of every road design. I believe that every road with a speed limits of over 30 km/hr should have a protected bike lane. I will work with other councillors to implement a strategy that includes safe and continuous routes that connects communities across the city and motivates people to ride their bikes more.
Increasing the number of protected bike lanes is vital. Riding on streets mixed with fast moving cars is unsafe and stressful. Protected lanes will help reduce stress not only for cyclists but also for drivers and reduce the conflicts between all road users. It encourages more people to ride their bikes and promotes health. Protected bike lanes and protected intersections are key for biking accessible for cyclists ranging from experienced to those who are just starting. I think it should be mandatory design element for all new road designs and incorporated into the existing roads if possible. |
| Geffros, Sophie | Yes | Vision Zero saves lives. It is the obligation of Hamilton City Council to commit to and finance achieving this vision. In addition to the ongoing consultation and feedback the following changes must be implemented to ensure safety:
1. Any pedestrian crossing by a bus stop, school, park or community hub must be a four-way stop. 2. The City of Hamilton should encourage cycling as a method of transportation. All high-traffic routes must have designated bike lanes. 3. In 2016, 279 pedestrian collisions took place in Hamilton, resulting in 257 injuries and 4 fatalities. Council must fund a pedestrian audit of the city, with particular emphasis on the needs of those with mobility concerns. 4. We must consult with road users, residents, and drivers in order to develop a new policy regarding transport trucks on our streets. Trucking routes, whenever possible, must be re-routed away from residential streets and school zones 5. An "urban highway" has no place in the core of a modern city. Steps must be taken to limit the amount and speed of traffic using Main St. and King St. W., and consideration should be given to making these streets two-way. |
| Massie, Richard | Yes | Yes, the number of serious injuries and deaths on our streets in Hamilton has me supporting "Vision Zero" goals - we need to start with shorter crossing distances to pedestrian islands, better markings, cyclist routes chosen where there can be greater space from cars, and more space between where cars stop and pedestrian crosswalks. |
| Miklos, Lyla | Yes | We can only achieve this goal through education, enforcement and better street design. Right now pedestrians, cyclists and motorists seem to constantly be fighting with each other rather than working together. I have seen some amazing models of "safe street" designs that include LRT, but sadly it seems that every time we add a bike lane or another element to our streets it isn't done with any real consultation from those who will be using those spaces to get around the city. There is a lack of thoughtfulness and practicality to the addition and implementation. A holistic approach that looks at how we can collaboratively and safely share the roads collectively would be my dream. |
| Narducci, Linda | Yes | Absolutely and very strongly yes, I support Vision Zero. If having neighbours injured or worse, fatalities due to traffic, the fact that Vision Zero is a global movement, should be enough reasons to support it. I travel along Main Street and King Street, from Dundurnto Ottawa Street and can vaguely recall seeing speed limit signs posted. I walk along this same corridor throughout Ward 1; speed along Main and King corridor needs to be decreased. The speed may be 50km, most drive these two arteries up to 70km. It would be nice to have a police presence with radar along these corridors as well as more red light cameras. All these I see as short term strategies. Ultimately, I support Main Street and King Street two way conversion. |
| White, Harrison | Yes | I do support the Vision Zero movement that was initiated in Sweden in 1997. Vision Zero is important, especially to me, because I was severally injured by a careless driver in a preventable accident, in Ward 1 no less. Previous councillors have not spent much of their infrastructure budget to improve the lives of citizens. I would like to see that money, at least portions of it, spent rather than saved. I would like to see the implementation of protected bike lanes at busy intersections and completed bike routes rather than partial lanes throughout the city. I want to improve density in the city to provide more reliable and effective public transit. I would propose a motion to switch to a bi-weekly garbage collection system to provide additional funding to the 20-year cycling master plan, which is currently only being funded to about half it’s recommended amount. I want to see more solar-powered pedestrian and cycle activated cross-walks installed throughout the city. I would like to see increased fines on King and Main for speeding, as well as other traffic calming implementations for busy areas. There is plenty of cost-effective methods to reduce speeds of vehicles, as well as increase safety in street design, we must be willing to A.C.T. on it. As someone who could have lost their life to a traffic accident, I understand the importance of creating safe streets in our city. |
| Wilson, Maureen | Yes | Of course I support the goal of Vision Zero, but, in the absence of an action plan this goal, just like the City’s vision to be the best place to raise a child and age successfully, will go unrealized. A commitment to specific and measurable actions are needed to lift it from the page and to put it into practice. New York City has led the way in its efforts to realize Vision Zero. If the Big Apple can do it, surely Hamilton can follow suit.
1. Enforcement There is a direct relationship between the level of police enforcement and pedestrian fatalities. The CBC crunched the data in Toronto and found that as the number of traffic tickets declined over the past number of years, the number of cyclist and pedestrian fatalities increased. Our Hamilton Police Service (HPS) must work in partnership with the City of Hamilton to support the goal of Vision Zero. 2. Education The municipality must commit to an education program that continuously informs residents about the changes that must accompany a move to Vision Zero and the reasoning behind it. 3. (re)Engineering The infamous street of death in NYC, Queen's Boulevard, has now recorded zero pedestrian and cycling deaths from cars with the engineering out of consequences of human error. The city did this by redesigning the street. In so doing, the street is also safer for drivers. - lanes were narrowed - bike lanes were added - crosswalks were shortened by widening medians - pedestrians and cyclists were given advanced greens 4 Bike Lanes NYC now boasts 738 km of protected bike lanes. There is no protection for cyclists with a strip of paint added to our roads. This is especially the case for our most vulnerable cyclists - children and seniors. In the world of Vision Zero, bike lanes are protected and continuous. There is plenty of evidence from across North America showing that more people will ride their bikes if they believe the route to be safe. And protected bike lanes make for safer cycling. The more people travel to work, school or play by bike, the fewer cars end up on our roads. Bike lanes can help, not hurt, a city's overall traffic congestion and provide a greater level of certainty for car and truck drivers. 5 . Control Speeding New York City reduced its default speed to 40 km/hour and put in more oversight. One of the tools they used was the placement of speed cameras in school zones. The data reveals that this had the effect of cutting speeding during school hours by more than half. There is substantial research showing that speed kills. When a collision does occur, the chances of surviving the collision is directly related to how fast the vehicle was traveling. Fatalities in NYC school zones with speed cameras has dropped by 55% and injuries are down 15%. I support a speed limit of 30 km/hour throughout our neighbourhoods and school zones and would also ask for enabling legislation from the Province to allow for automated speed cameras in school zones. 5. Build Better Transit A quality, more accessible, more reliable transit system will encourage fewer private cars on the road. This will save lives. 6. Complete Communities - Land Use Planning The goal of achieving zero road deaths is also linked to how we design our neighbourhoods. Complete neighbourhoods with mixed use and dense form will offer more citizens the opportunity to walk to their urban amenities, rather than drive. Fewer cars means fewer deaths. 7. Collision Data & Fair Action The city must collect and share with residents all collision data for the purpose of identifying collision areas and patterns. The data can be used to identify root causes and help structure real solutions. At present, the city places the onus for securing street calming and speed reduction efforts (eg. speed bumps) at the feet of residents. This resident driven system is necessarily inequitable. There are some residents who may have more time and resources to advocate and organize. Every child and adult, regardless of their postal code, deserves safe passage to school, to play and to work. The City of Hamilton must have a fair and responsive Vision Zero plan that is equitable in its orientation and 8. Truck Route Review The City of Hamilton must lead a new truck route review, matched with enforcement, to end transport trucks from shortcutting through our residential neighbourhoods. 9. Political Will In my opinion, this is the most important tool in the Vision Zero toolkit. In the absence of political will, Vision Zero remains a nice sounding slogan that changes nothing. The city of Hamilton's vision is to be the best place to raise a child and to age successfully. We must align our ideas, our actions and our budget to support our vision. As Ward 1 Hamilton City Councillor, I am committed to an action plan that will get us to Vision Zero. |
Response Summary (top)
| Brief Response | Count | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 10 | 100.0% |
| No | 0 | 0.0% |
| Maybe | 0 | 0.0% |
3 Candidates Have Not Responded (top)
| Ward 01 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bakht, Syed | ||
| Geertsma, Jordan | ||
| Lazich, Carol E. | ||
