Credit: Eric Dougan Scene last week's car crash on Richmond St.
Dangerous driving is a topic on the minds of some Londoners, following back-to-back car accidents last week.
The first accident took place Thursday morning on Richmond St. It involved two cars and left a 20-year-old pedestrian suffering life-threatening injuries, as well as a 29-year-old driver with minor injuries. The second accident happened Friday on Commissioners Rd., and also left a pedestrian in the hospital.
“This kind of tragedy is happening around the city, all the time,” says Councillor Sam Trosow, who represents Ward 6, where the Richmond St. accident took place. He thinks it is past time that the city stepped up to do something about traffic and road safety.
“Residents of this neighbourhood…have long since felt that the city needs to do a serious traffic study for the entire area of Richmond,” he says. “And the city is not only not doing this, but they just don’t seem to be paying attention.”
Councillor Trosow says there have been times that the city has neglected to look into traffic and road issues, such as when Western University submitted an application to the city to build a new residence near their main gates on Richmond St., right next to the scene of last week’s accident. Trosow says the city declined to conduct a traffic study.
One community member even expressed her concern about the project in a letter to the Planning and Environment Committee (page 26)
“Right now, the intersection at the University Gates is a well-known nightmare and is the site of numerous accidents… a traffic study is essential,” wrote Susan Bentley, of the Broughdale Community Association.
“Why do I have to wait for a tragedy to occur to get people to take something like this seriously?” asks Trosow. “If we’re going to take traffic safety seriously, we need to be looking at this much more carefully.”
The scene of Thursday morning’s car crash (Credit-London Fire Department X/Twitter)
When asked for a statement, London Police said that traffic and road safety is a priority for them.
“As always, our concern is public safety and community safety,” says Constable Matthew Dawson. “Road safety is a priority of the police. It’s also a priority of everybody in the city. We encourage anyone who observes dangerous or concerning driving behaviours to report those.”
Police also provided an update on the condition of the pedestrians hospitalized from last week’s accidents, saying that both are in stable condition, and they are continuing to investigate the causes of the accidents.
