After the tragedy yesterday, I felt compelled to inform our local politicians to do something about it.  The intersection has been borderline unsafe, and I'm concerned that if nothing is done, this won't be the last time it will happen.  Let's make this intersection safer for everyone.  Below is a direct email sent to Mr. Shefman, Ms. Martow and Mr. Kent regarding the issue.

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Hi Mr. Shefman, Ms. Martow and Mr. Kent

I am writing as a concerned citizen hoping to raise concern about the traffic issues at the Glen Shield and Dufferin intersection. I'm sure you are aware of the tragedy that had recently taken place, as a motorist collision that had taken the life of a cyclist who was on the sidewalk. While the cause of the accident is unknown, it does not surprise me given the layout and the traffic in the area. Recent changes in the last few years, such as creating the diamond lane to allow carpooling and the chest high barrier has greatly reduced visibility of the driving lane, and creates and illusion for bad motorists to speed pass the area.

If you're unfamiliar with the corner, here is the google map link (Google Map Lookup) and a screen capture of the intersection (Left Turn Corner Capture - from May 2014). The direction of this image is heading northbound with Glen Shields on the left side.

As you can see, southbound traffic is mostly on the two left lanes (and in this case, large trucks are in the middle lane) as the diamond lane is in effect. This is a very bad intersection for community residents making left turns, as very often drivers heading southbound will see an empty diamond lane and take advantage by speeding through it (both legal and illegally). The diamond lane is rarely enforced (I have seen less than a handful of instances during my daily commute over the past 2 years where police is actively catching misuse), but often you will see the visual blockage of large transport trucks in the middle lane, increasing the chances of accidents. Early reports from the accident suggest the exact case, where the driver was speeding along in the diamond lane and crashed into the left turning car.

What really puzzles me about this section is the rationale for a 2 lane + diamond lane road on Dufferin from Centre street to Steeles. The two neighbouring main streets (Bathurst and Yonge) have various mitigation strategies to reduce speed and traffic in similar residential areas (Bathurst is a 2 lane road in the same stretch, Yonge is 50KM/H). As someone who's lived here for more than 20 years in this neighbourhood, it's disappointing and scary to think that our safety is being neglected for improved traffic flow to the north of us.

I urge you to look into this matter, as I believe that this tragedy should have been avoidable, and further inaction will result in more harm for the community.