What is a PXO? It is the acronym for a Pedestrian Crossover, as described here on the City of Toronto’s website.
For several years, SEDRA, Councillor Matlow, and community members have been working to replace the dangerous pedestrian crossover in front of Davisville-Spectrum school.
This location needs a traffic light, which will be better for everyone, pedestrians and drivers alike. The traffic light would be green at all times, except when there is a call for pedestrian crossing, by button.
Traffic flow would be better, and pedestrian crossing would be MUCH safer.
The City’s pedestrian crossover page has some interesting points that align with our message:
Pedestrian Crossovers (PXOs) are intended for low to moderate volume, low speed roadways
SEDRA comment: anyone who visits this crossing in morning or afternoon rush hour, would not mistake this as a “low to moderate volume” roadway. Peak traffic matters, even if measurement of total average daily traffic volume places this crossing within the City’s guidelines for a PXO.
Something else that matters a great deal: who is using this crossing. Hundreds of young children and their parents use this crossing every day to get to and from Davisville Junior Public School and the daycare located in the school building.
Pedestrian Crossovers
- may cause pedestrians to have a false sense of security and place themselves in an unnecessarily hazardous position with vehicular traffic
SEDRA comment: there is no better illustration of this problem in our neighbourhood than the Davisville school crossing. For us, this crossing is a case study of a PXO that has outgrown its ability to serve as a safe crossing.
This type of hazard would not be tolerated on any other major street in our neighbourhood, whether on Yonge St, Eglinton Ave, or Bayview Ave.
The one bit of good news we have right now is that the City has approved the replacement of a PXO on Bayview at Soudan/Parkhurst with a much safer pedestrian traffic light. It has also approved installation of a pedestrian traffic light on Bayview at Sutherland, where there has long been a need for a safe crossing into and out of Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.
For more on safety measures on major streets in our neighbourhood, and the terrible contrast between those streets and Davisville, see our article “What Did Davisville Do Wrong?”