Toronto's plan to install traffic calming measures around schools could take years to fully implement, raising concerns among road safety experts about what those delays could mean for children.
The issue has gained renewed attention following recent comments from Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticizing traffic-calming proposals at Toronto City Hall, according to reporting by NOW Toronto.
Traffic calming measures are designed to slow drivers and make roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists. In school zones, these changes can include speed humps, narrower lanes, raised crossings, and other design features intended to reduce vehicle speeds.
The Ontario government announced in September 2025 that it would ban municipalities from using automated speed enforcement cameras. Ford said the move was intended to focus on safety rather than revenue, saying speed cameras are a "cash grab."
Instead, the province created a $210 million Road Safety Initiatives Fund to support other road safety measures such as speed bumps, raised crosswalks and improved signage.
Anne Stewart, a program co-ordinator with Parachute Canada, said lowering vehicle speeds is one of the most important ways to prevent serious injuries and deaths.
“Even small reductions in speed have a meaningful impact,” she said, citing research that shows a 1.6 kilometres per hour reduction in average speed can lead to roughly a five per cent drop in collisions.
She said pedestrians hit at 50 km/h are almost six times more likely to be killed than those struck at 30 km/h, while at 30 km/h, children walking or cycling have a significantly higher chance of surviving a collision.
While traffic calming measures are effective, Stewart said implementing them citywide is a complex, time-consuming process. Redesigning streets across a city the size of Toronto requires planning, engineering, permits, approvals, and construction timelines that can take years.
Stewart said the city’s proposed timeline for traffic calming is realistic, but long implementation periods mean children could remain at risk in the meantime.
“There will unfortunately be a gap in protection for children in school zones,” she said.
Other safety measures can help fill that gap while the infrastructure is underway.
Stewart said Speed humps themselves can reduce collisions with child pedestrians by up to 43 per cent, though they cannot be installed on all roads due to traffic flow and emergency access considerations.
She also highlighted automated speed enforcement — often called speed cameras — which studies by Toronto Metropolitan University and the Hospital for Sick Children have shown can reduce speeding in school zones by 45 per cent.
However, the provincial government recently removed these cameras, a move Stewart says leaves children at greater risk.
Ford criticized Toronto’s multi-year timeline for traffic calming, suggesting they could be installed in months rather than years, even though his government removed the speed cameras that could temporarily fill that gap, according to reporting by The Canadian Press.
Stewart emphasized that no single solution is sufficient. Combining road design changes, enforcement, education, and policy measures creates the most effective protection.
“All of those evidence-based solutions come together to protect our most vulnerable road users,” she said. “And in school zones, those are children.”
Beyond the safety debate, safer streets have broader benefits. Stewart said traffic calming encourages children to walk, bike, or scooter to school, which increases physical activity and strengthens community connections.
While there may be a push for faster implementation. Safety measures can’t be rushed and require careful planning.
