We’re always moving in Guelph. Wherever and however we’re travelling along our streets, we all want to feel safe. Vision Zero is all about making our streets safe. It is a strategy for reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roadways to zero. Learn more about Vision Zero in Guelph
In January 2022, Guelph City Council endorsed Vision Zero as part of the Transportation Master Plan. This action plan replaces the 2020 Community Road Safety Strategy and outlines the path forward for Vision Zero actions in Guelph. We are building the action plan now and want your help.
How to Participate
Thank you for filling out our survey to tell us your view of road safety to develop a Vision Zero Action Plan for Guelph and for telling us what safe streets means to you below. Both tools are closed.
Safe streets mean to me:
good lighting, if changes in height of sidewalk slabs are marked by yellow paint, cross walks are clearly marked and signs are very visible, speed limits are well posted (recently I received a speeding ticket for going 41 in a 30 school zone. Since then I am really on the look out for speed limit signs. since there are so many different limits there have to be more signs, for example Woodlawn has 1 sign at the corner of Victoria and Woodlawn then nothing. It took several turns there to figure out where the sign was. I am a pedestrian and a cross walk to get to Duke Street or Arthur St. over Elizabeth Street would be greatly appreciated. I have to run the gauntlet to get across Elizabeth with traffic coming down Elizabeth and coming from under the railway bridge, The street is very wide. Cyclist won't like this but I would like them to follow the rules of the road. Perhaps having some training necessary for a bike licence would help. when i was a kid we purchased a licence which was held under the seat at the back of our bike. with instructions that is not a bad idea.
Thanks for looking for citizen's input.
Thriving businesses along streets with public places to sit with a coffee in warm weather or just rest in cold. No closed shops, no encampments.
The automobile is the most convenient and least litigious method for injuring or killing someone in North America.
Automobile drivers need to face more severe legal and licensing penalties for injuring and killing other road users (pedestrians, mobility aid users, e-scooter riders, motorbike riders, and cyclists). Tickets are inconsequential, ineffective, and impermanent for those who can afford the fees.
Continue to invest in traffic calming infrastructure at the municipal level.
Actual traffic enforcement by our local police department, I haven't seen any enforecment since the pandemic, and then only for the "upstanding" drivers that qualify for stunt driving or impaired
Properly designed subdivisions such that all road users can get out to the main road and the main roads don't have traffic lights every 25 meters
traffic lights timed such that if you are doing the speed limit you can get between them, right now it is the speed limit +20, and not a behaviour we want to encourage
Separated bike lanes, even if it means those collapsible posts on our major roads (i.e. Gordon from Stone to Clair) so that all the money we are spending on infrastructure for cyclists isn't wasted
actually see enforcement between speedbumps on our roadways. Great the city recognized that roads are raceways, work with the police to slow people down because well the speed bumps are a joke - Racing away or just straddling them and still doing 60!
I can comfortably take my kids on a bike ride down a main corridor to get to ice cream by the river. I don't have to worry about buses stopping in the bike lane, cars veering into it, or kids veering into traffic.
Either move cyclists to a widen, paved walkway with markings to denote pedestrian vs cyclist side for when encountering each other or widen (not narrow) roads to allow a decent bike lane and adequate vehicle flow
especially in fall and winter. Stop recommending residents to rake leaves over the curb, it's irresponsible advice when those leaves are in bike lanes.
Safe streets means less cars on the roads and in order to do that we need a convenient, comprehensive, accessible and affordable transit system.
Safe streets mean designing for users of ages and abilities, especially the most vulnerable, to be safe, comfortable, and confident while making their way, using the transportation method of their choice.
Reduce road rage with properly timed lights.. one should be able to travel from one end of town to the other without being caught with a red light, including all pedestrian crossovers. Too many red lights encourage people to use the side streets through the neighbourhoods. Keep the speed limit at least at 50km on major roads, get rid speed bumps and bollards on major roads. If people buy houses on major roads, they are also accepting the traffic. Downey Road is a prime example of what 'Not to do'. It is a major road to the south, not a neighbourhood road. Where as Edinburgh Road north of Speedvale is a good example of 'what to do.'
Recognize that until there is great public transit, especially between urban areas, cars are the only way we can get from home in Guelph to work in KW/TO/Mississauga/Hamilton and beyond.
I feel there needs to be more enforcement for cyclists. I am not saying this about all cyclists, however there is a large portion of them that feel that the rules of the road do not apply (traffic lights, stop signs, crosswalks etc.)
On the other hand with motorists, the reduced speed limits I feel cause more problems. An increased level of road rage, speeding up to avoid getting caught at a red light due to the abundance of traffic stops. Roadways become an obstacle course with the amount of speed bumps and bullards.
All forms of transportation are respected and encouraged. We've moved beyond cars being the dominant mode and have made way for bikes, walking and accessibility as an equal (bikes lanes like in Europe), pediatrician cross walks etc.
Safe streets means the road diet is over. We start growing our roads to accommodate for our growing population, this could alleviate some road rage due to endless signal changes just to get through an intersection.
A road where cyclists have their own place beside the sidewalk, off the roadway and completely removed from vehicular traffic.
A road where the sidewalk is illuminated so pedestrians and cyclists can be seen. Illuminating the road doesn't do anything for visibility when you can't see the threat until they're in the danger zone.
Less speed bumps and bollards, less confusing signage, you're just creating a busy and potentially sight limiting environment.
Better adherence to rules of the road by all users. Driver's, pedestrians and cyclists are all equally guilty of terrible law adherence.
Oh and did I mention an end to the road diet? Your own report states were adding 50k people in the next 25 years. Stop reducing. It's obvious and clear that this community prefers driving over all other options. Start serving the majority. That doesn't mean the others get neglected but elimination of lanes should be completely off the table at this point. It's absolutely absurd and country to your own growth projection.
Car and Truck Drivers sharing the road and providing the right-of-way at intersections
1. No tent encampments in parks and all public places.
2. A stop to drivers ignoring stop signs and traffic lights.
3. Police doing beat walks getting to know people and communities
There are a lot of good points made by people but one thing I disagree with is the assumption that "everyone makes mistakes". That is wrong. People need to be defensive drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. All accidents are preventable! If we start to build in redundancies, with the assumption that people will make mistakes, than we are never going to get to Vision Zero.
...road diet!
...Narrow roads and wide sidewalks with mature trees that encourage drivers to go slowly
...Pedestrian/cyclist first design to encourage active transit and a healthier population
...physically separate cycle tracks on busy streets
...signage for drivers to watch and to yield to bicycles and pedestrians wherever bicycle lanes exist
Isn’t it a shame that it has come to this, that we have to adopt Vision Zero as the paradigm for our transportation system. Vision Zero is really just a paradigm meant to replace the old paradigm of moving motorized traffic speedily and efficiently. Clearly the old paradigm has come with a great cost in human pain and suffering, so in that sense, I suppose Vision Zero is better.
Still, when you really think about it, Vision Zero is just a big reaction to something that’s wrong but which, unfortunately, we have become entirely inured to. After all, Vision Zero is articulated in terms of preventing collisions that imperil vulnerable road users. It’s a system that measures its effectiveness in reduced collision statistics. Its positives are fewer deaths and injuries. Yikes. Like I said, what a shame it has to be this way.
Imagine a different paradigm for our transportation system, one that values the journey itself, one that enacts the idea that getting there is half the fun. Imagine a transportation system that, rather than seeking relief from pain and suffering, tries to enhance peoples’ lives with good health, positive experience, joy, interest, community engagement, socializing and equity. Imagine a paradigm that is positive, not negative.
Imagine.
Cars physically cannot continue to attack, intimidate, and dominate pedestrians and cyclists.
Pedestrian and bicycle traffic light priority at major intersections.
Redesigning stroads to slow traffic down
Narrowing roads in residential neighborhoods to slow traffic down
Fully separated bike lanes/tracks instead of just painted bike gutyers
Proper maintenance of bike lanes/tracks
Transit priority lanes down multi lane sections of Gordon Street/Woolwich Street
Redesigning bus stops on Gordon to reduce conflict with bike lanes
More enforcement of vehicle traffic, especially distracted driving, red light running and speeding!
Streets that are comfortable and enjoyable to walk and cycle in with no fear of being involved in a life altering or life ending crash or accident.