Vision Zero

There are many ways to provide feedback on cycling infrastructure design. The Active Transportation & Trails Advisory Committee provides regular input to staff on walking, rolling and cycling projects and policies. You can also subscribe to the Bike Kitchener newsletter for consultation opportunities, or contact city staff anytime at cycling@kitchener.ca.

In regards to your specific example, we are standardizing intersection design through our Complete Streets Guidelines. We commissioned a 3^rd party consultant to do an independent safety review of the Downtown Cycling Grid, which includes the Joseph St and Queen St intersection. There are some improvements that will be made in the short-term, and in the long-term, when opportunities arise, we will consider further improvements to bring it closer to a typical protected intersection.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on multi-use trails (MUTs).  The City’s Complete Streets Guidelines identify distinct cycle tracks and sidewalks as the preferred infrastructure type in our street reconstructions. This helps to reduce conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists. You can see a recent example of this treatment on Highland Road between Queen’s Boulevard and Stirling Avenue. Most reconstructions will utilize this standard, unless there are specific constraints that require an alternative approach. Multi-use trails are often selected because they optimize the use of limited space and are more cost-effective than constructing separate bike lanes and wide sidewalks. MUTs also offer flexibility by accommodating a variety of users, including pedestrians and cyclists, especially in areas where the total volume of trail users is expected to be low. We understand your safety concerns and are actively exploring ways to improve path design. This includes enhancing signage and pavement markings, as well as engaging the public to ensure MUTs are safe and enjoyable for everyone.

To assess and compare the financial impact of injuries, both tangible and intangible metrics are taken into account. Tangible costs encompass medical bills and lost earnings, while intangible costs relate to aspects like pain and emotional distress. When considering occurrences, the frequency or number of injury incidents is factored into the cost estimation. The values of statistical life per casualty type can be found at https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/statistics-data/statistics-data-road-safety/2020-statistics-social-costs-collisions-canada.

The collision data report provides specific details about the location of each incident. This data can be used to associate each collision with its context, such as bike lanes, traffic lights, roundabouts, etc. This information is publicly accessible in the 'collisions' section of Kitchener’s open data repository. The collision data can be found here.

Each collision must be evaluated individually to determine the cause. The result of this evaluation can lead to safety improvements and initiatives under the Vision Zero Strategy. While Vision Zero emphasizes all street users have an important role to play for safety, its primary objective is to eliminate collisions leading to serious injuries or fatalities. If any street user makes a mistake, the system should be designed to anticipate and minimize the impact.

The City of Kitchener adopted Complete Streets design standard in 2019. The City of Kitchener’s Complete Streets Guidelines can be found here. These guidelines include new design standards for all streets being constructed through new development or City-led reconstruction projects. Complete Streets design standards were developed using industry best practices and extensive stakeholder engagement.