Submission To Toronto & East York Community Council

Here's a submission from Fran (Last name withheld by request):

As a longtime resident of...Oriole Parkway, I would like to submit my comments with respect to the installation of a stop sign at the corner of Oxton & Oriole Parkway. Clearly, this installation would be only one-step above having nothing at all, when in fact the only solution is a crosswalk or lights. Nonetheless, I appreciate that it is better than nothing and I so appreciate the efforts of my neighbour, Mark Rees.

Following is a list of the concerns I have with the current situation:

1. I leave my apartment at [every morning] and believe me when I say that I wait and wait and wait for the elusive gap so I can simply cross the street and head toward the subway. If a kind motorist traveling east on Oxton stops to let me cross, the north bound motorist, desperate to turn onto Oxton, usually will not. I have almost been clipped more than once. If the way is clear of the north bound motorist, the drivers behind the Good Samaritan lean on their horns or shout obscenities. What a start to the day!

2. Please refer to the above, only in reverse, when I arrive home at...

3. Although I appreciate the installation of the “Quiet” sign, it has absolutely no affect on the boors turning right off Oxton. They don’t care what time of the day or night it is and the blaring of horns is constant. I have dared to point to the sign in the midst of an angry driver leaning on the horn and he screamed “There is no yield sign!” I guess he felt he was explaining his position.

4. Speaking of yield signs, one in five drivers don’t realize that they can legally just race around the corner and so they actually pause to look left and check for oncoming traffic. (Oncoming traffic, by the way, does not know the meaning of a solid line). This brings on the horns again, along with the shouting. There are also numerous rear end collisions, all neatly handled by the exchange of information. They can’t possibly be reporting to the various collision centres or else we would surely be on the list of “Worst Intersections in Toronto.”

5. I am also a driver. I am not allowed to enter my garage coming south on Oriole Parkway because there is a solid line and I know what it means. In any case, I couldn’t sneak over if I wanted to because of the cars tearing around the corner. I can barely get over into the right hand lane so I can make a right onto Kilbarry and go around the block. So, my solution it to get off of Oriole, go along Oxton and turn onto a side street, do a U turn, wait for a gap and make a right onto Oriole and whip into my driveway. If there is a car behind me, I usually get “the finger.”

To summarize, this corner is an accident waiting to happen. If it is not a car and pedestrian, then it will be car against car. I know the City calls it a highway but I don’t understand how you can have a “highway” through a residential area without some concern for the residents. I can’t speak to the speed limits because I am unable to judge how fast cars are moving but I do appreciate the new 40 kph that have been posted. By way of closure, why don’t you simply move the crosswalk to our corner? No one uses the one on Oxton anyway.

Fran (Last name withheld by request):
Oriole Parkway
Toronto, ON
M5P 2G8