Nancy Smith Lea, director of the Centre for Active Transportation, a Toronto-based non-profit that advocates for safer streets, said it\u2019s not surprising that fewer pedestrians and individuals who cycle were injured this year while there were fewer drivers on the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s this idea that maybe pedestrians are distracted or looking at their phones. (But) clearly, when there are no cars, there are no fatalities. And that\u2019s as simple as that,\u201d she said. \u201cCycling and walking are inherently safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way that we\u2019ve built out our street systems, especially in the suburbs, is very dangerous,\u201d said Lea. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to reach zero fatalities until we really tackle that street design in a major way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lea and other road safety advocates say physical changes to streets, such as narrowing traffic lanes, reducing curb turning radii, and providing physically-separated facilities for bikes are the most effective way to reduce fatalities of pedestrians and individuals who cycle.<\/p>\n