Complete streets

Complete streets is a transportation policy and design approach that requires streets to be planned, designed, operated, and maintained to enable safe, convenient and comfortable travel and access for users of all ages and abilities regardless of their mode of transportation (says Wikipedia). That includes drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, young and old. A lot of cities have developed Complete Streets policies, and Toronto is just starting to map out guidelines.

What would complete streets look like for seniors? If you have some ideas about this, you can give your feedback to the City from June 18 to July 2 through an online survey, or by phone or email; see the same website for contact information. Note that the information you provide on the online survey is pretty generic. Here's my wish list, focusing mostly on senior pedestrians:

• Ensure adequate street lighting, on both sides of the street.
• Ensure that traffic lights provide enough time for seniors and people using mobility devices to cross the street.
• Get cyclists off the sidewalks.
• Maintain sidewalks to fix uneven pavement. Don't let those temporary tar patches sit there for years.
• Make cyclists stop at red lights.
• Make residential areas walkable. Seniors should be able to walk to a grocery store, drug store, bank, coffee shop, or parkette.
• Provide benches along the sidewalks on main shopping streets.
• Provide enclosed bus shelters, with seating inside.
• Reduce the maximum driving speed. I know this is contentious, but it does reduce accidents, and makes it easier for slow-driving seniors to keep pace.
• Shovel the sidewalks, and enforce fines for homeowners and business owners who neglect to do it.

I know it's not politically popular to criticize cyclists, but I believe that scofflaw cyclists are the greatest threat to the safety of pedestrians, particularly seniors, mobility-impaired, and children. They roar down the sidewalks and blow through red lights with impunity, knowing they can't be identified and caught. They need to be registered and have licence numbers showing prominently on their bikes, so that when they knock someone down, at least there's a chance a witness or security camera can identify them and the law can make them accountable.