In a record year for pedestrian deaths, here’s what Calgary can learn from other cities

It’s been a deadly year on Calgary’s streets.

On the evening of Nov. 21, a woman in her 30s was crossing Macleod Trail outside of a marked crosswalk when a driver struck her while going through a green light. The pedestrian was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries and died five days later.

That marked Calgary’s 14th pedestrian fatality this year.

It’s the highest number of pedestrian deaths on Calgary Police Service records, which date back to 1996. According to police, it’s a death toll only seen once before, in 2005.

“These are needless deaths that do not have to happen,” said Dr. Louis Hugo Francescutti, an emergency physician and professor at the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health.

Francescutti has been pushing to reduce fatalities and injuries on Alberta’s roads for decades, and he said there are lessons Calgary could take from other jurisdictions as deaths climb here.

“Have other countries solved this problem? Well, the answer is pretty much yes,” he said.

Zero fatalities in Oslo, Helsinki

Francescutti points to countries in Europe — including Norway, Finland and Sweden — as proof that pedestrian deaths can be reduced or avoided altogether.

In 2019, for example, both of Norway and Finland’s capital cities saw zero pedestrian fatalities.

And again recently, Helsinki went another year without a single pedestrian fatality. The EU Urban Mobility Observatory attributed that milestone in part to 30 km/h speed limits, redesigned streets, and reliable public transit that has reduced dependence on vehicles.

For Francescutti, those countries’ emphasis on stronger traffic enforcement and education could make a major difference in Calgary. He said the situation could change almost overnight if that became the top priority for the Calgary Police Service.

“You need to have every man and woman in uniform, and not in uniform, laying down the law, saying, ‘If you’re going to drive in Calgary, there’s certain ways we expect you to drive. And if you don’t drive that way, you’re going to get penalized,’” he said.

“And the revenue from that can be put into hiring more officers to do more traffic [enforcement].”

From 41 to 16 deaths in Toronto

Here in Canada, Toronto has significantly reduced its pedestrian deaths over the past decade.

According to the City of Toronto, it has seen 16 pedestrian deaths so far this year. While that number is slightly higher than Calgary’s, it’s a far cry from the 41 pedestrian deaths in 2018.

Matt Moyer, the inspector in charge of traffic services with the Toronto Police Service, said climbing numbers and bad press forced them to create a “very aggressive” congestion management plan.

One of their strategies has been to clamp down on construction sites — even when they receive pushback from companies.

“When you have cranes that are building and you have construction sites, you’re squeezing traffic and therefore you’re making it a little bit more challenging for pedestrians. And what pedestrians will do is often circumvent the signs and the lights, and they will cross where they shouldn’t cross,” he said.

Toronto police have also gotten more strict with drivers who leave their vehicles obstructing traffic.

“We are going through the city and towing vehicles right, left and centre — our Uber drivers, our taxi drivers, our people that are delivering packages, whatever.”

As part of the city's congestion management plan, Moyer has designated a team of officers and civilians who focus solely on keeping traffic moving and protecting pedestrians at crosswalks in downtown Toronto. That, he said, has yielded “tremendous” results.

$7.5 million to Vision Zero

Calgary’s rise in pedestrian deaths doesn’t mean the city and police aren’t trying to do something about it.

The city launched a Traffic Safety Team in March, focused on enforcing traffic in playground and residential zones.

In May, council approved an urgent $1 million to deploy more speed humps and intersection work across the city.

The city and Calgary police also recently teamed up to launch an education and awareness campaign called Join the Drive to Zero.

And last week, council agreed to take $7.5 million from its rainy day fund to spend on Vision Zero initiatives. That’s an approach created by the Swedish government that Calgary adopted in 2018, which is focused on eliminating traffic fatalities and injuries.

That money will go toward infrastructure improvements, such as deploying rectangular rapid flashing beacons at high-risk crosswalks, and studying where speeds should be reduced to 40 km/h.

In a statement, the Calgary Police Service said traffic and road safety is a top priority. Next year, it will be focused on school and community safety, high-risk collision areas and protecting pedestrians.

“While we and our partners have identified key areas where we will be looking to improve enforcement, engineering, education and engagement, we unfortunately cannot be everywhere, and we rely on people in our community to watch out for each other, travel with care and caution, and remember that we all need to share the road.”