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Safety First

As part of the Toronto, Ont., Canada’s C$86 million (US$68.2 million) Vision Zero Road Safety Plan, flexible traffic calming signs were installed near schools around the city. One sign, though, had the opposite effect. “The sign went in a location where we had a tight, tight space but certainly there was enough room,” said Barbara Grey, General Manager of Transportation Services. “What happens when you put something like that new into the street is you have to go out and take a look and make sure that it is working properly,” she said. “We decided to come and take it out because people were not acting around it in the way we anticipated.” School bus drivers were “interacting” with the sign by swerving around it — into oncoming traffic. Gray said her staff has reached out to Davisville Middle School Officials to discuss alternatives, including signs that aren’t placed in the road. “Speeding was indicated as a problem at that school so we will be going back with a number of different Vision Zero tools,” Gray said. (MS/CP24 Toronto) ...Speed bumps are “interactive” too.