Traffic Safety at Allenby – An Update

The APA Traffic Safety Committee has been hard at work, moving various safety-related initiatives forward with the City of Toronto. Recent successes include the installation of lane markers along the west side of Avenue Road to further push southbound traffic away from the sidewalks, as well as the operation of the automated speed enforcement camera at Castlefield, which according to Councillor Colle’s office, resulted in 874 tickets issued in December, with a highest ticketed speed of 84 km/h and a highest fine of $658.

We are continuing to work on other initiatives, including the programming of leading pedestrian intervals at the lights at Roselawn and St. Clements, the relocation of pedestrian call buttons at those lights away from the roadway, the painting of school zone markings and forced right turn markings on Castlefield (which were removed inadvertently when repaving occurred), traffic pattern analysis at the St. Clements intersection and continued speed enforcement.

We are going to be introducing new signage in the school zones to make no-parking and no-idling zones more clear and to delineate drop zones. We will continue to make Slow Down lawn signs available to families who would like to add one to their lawn.

So how can you help?

We are looking for support in four key areas:

1. Castlefield Residents Between Avenue and Castlewood – you will have seen flyers in your mailbox seeking support of our efforts to reduce the speed limit from 40 km/h to 30 km/h and to have speed bumps installed. We need the support of at least 25% of households in this stretch. If you reside in the block between Avenue and Castlewood, and are supportive of this initiative, please give us your support by filling out the following questionnaire as soon as possible this week. We only need one response per household. Please feel free to forward this link to non-Allenby neighbours who may be supportive and interested. Thank you to all families who have signed to date.
2. Continue to Walk to School – one of the silver linings of the pandemic is the increased number of families walking to and from school. Keep it up! One of the best ways to improve traffic safety is to reduce the flow of traffic in our school zone and this is a key part of that. So get outside, enjoy the emerging spring weather and keep walking.
3. Keep the School Zone Clear of Vehicles – the school zone encompasses the perimeter of the school on Castlefield and St. Clements. Cars should not be parking or standing in the school zones at any time during the school day. It’s okay to stop, let students out and continue on, drivers should not leave the car in this scenario. If your child needs a little more support getting out of the car and to their designated entrance, then please park your car outside of the school zone and walk a few steps to your entrance. This reduces congestion around entrances, improves visibility for drivers and promotes overall safety in our school zone.
4. Go Slow Signs – if you are interested in a Go Slow sign for your lawn, please contact us at the emails below and we will drop one off.

Thank you to the Allenby community for the continued support of our efforts to improve pedestrian safety in our school zone. If you have questions, please contact the Committee Co-Chairs, Kate McNeill-Keller and Lesley Cogan.