Toronto’s worst intersections, redux
by Patrick Cain
Various media outlets have taken a swing at a Toronto’s Worst Intersections story at some point. It’s not an exact science - most seem to be based on reader nominations. Ours have been statistical: a ratio of reported accidents to the traffic volumes at the intersection.
Last summer, we looked at Toronto’s worst pedestrian intersections using this system (link, link). The results were revealing - most of the most dangerous places to walk in the city were suburban intersections where heavy, fast traffic on roads designed for cars met high residential density.
Here’s the worst:
Last week we went though the same process for motorists, crunching a decade’s worth of collision data, or about 500,000 accidents.
Lakeshore and Jameson and Eglinton and the Allen were #2 and #3 on the list (not surprising for people who have spent time driving in Toronto) but the sleepy T-intersection of Old Finch Ave. and Sewells Road topped the list. It has little traffic, but in proportion to that, lots of accidents. Drivers have to deal with a steep hill, two blind corners in opposite directions - hard to keep an eye on both - and the semi-official gravel lane for traffic turning north, and a one-lane Bailey bridge, a leftover from Hurricane Hazel now more than half a century old.
Here are screenshots of the maps:
Cross-posted at patrickcain.ca
