$2.4 million per traffic death is what the Capital Region Intersection Safety Partnership estimates the Total Human Capital and Direct Costs to be. And 2024 is risking undoing much of the progress Edmonton has made in regards to reducing traffic incidents involving injury and death.
There are no easy answers in a city dependent on cars. However, solutions do exist in the systems Edmonton has already built including City Plan, zoning bylaw renewals, and an emphasis on planning pedestrian-friendly networks. What we need is a renewed commitment to these values - and that includes a concerted effort on installing engineered controls into our roads.
Traffic deaths take a severe toll on the family impacted including emotionally and financially. Even more so if the family breadwinner is killed.
What Edmonton has experienced so far in 2024 risks undoing the progress the city has made in the past 20 years.
Through initiatives such as Vision Zero, and indirectly the City Plan and zoning renewals, Edmonton has signalled that the tolerance for traffic fatalities is zero.
Since 2002, Edmonton has experienced a strong reduction in traffic fatalities. In 2020, fatalities reached a 20-year low of 1.1 deaths per 100,000 people.
Signs point to the strategies Edmonton is using to get traffic deaths to zero are working. However, 2024 is pointing to something that returns the city back to pre-pandemic levels. While it's unclear if this year is an anomaly, it is a disappointing setback and Edmonton needs to look at ways to get back on track.
A controversial solution is to eliminate cars. Very tall ask - and very improbable.
Edmonton has installed warning signs and flashing lights to remind drivers to slow down. While a warning can force some to think twice, other drivers either ignore or don't see it. If gory photos on cigarette packs is all it took to stop people from smoking, cigarettes would have been eradicated years ago.
Engineered controls could offer answers. Speed bumps, and continuous side-walks that force a driver to slow down. Designing narrower streets is another proven concepts - these also make drivers slow down to successfully navigate through parked cars, pedestrian lanes, and oncoming pedestrian / vehicle traffic.
Even if we indulge in the heartless thought of shrugging off traffic deaths as just another Tuesday, $2.4 million is a significant number. In 2024 alone, Edmonton is on pace to cost society tens of millions.
These engineered solutions, while not the only option to combat traffic deaths, can be practical and affordable in comparison to the emotional and financial costs of death.
When one 7-year-old girl was killed by a metal lawn dart, a grieving father made the effort to convince authorities to ban the toy. Eventually, he succeeded. One child too many.
Citations:
Jason Hills, "Two Pedestrian Deaths in Less Than 10 Hours", 2024 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/edmonton-pedestrian-deaths-collisions
Edmonton Police Service, "Death of Male Marks 5th Motorcycle Fatality of 2024", 2024 https://www.edmontonpolice.ca/News/MediaReleases/motorfatal
City of Edmonton, "Motor Vehicle Collisions Report", 2015-2021 https://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/traffic_safety/motor-vehicle-collisions
Paul De Leur, "Collision Cost Study Update", 2018 https://drivetolive.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CollisionCostStudyUpdate_FinalReport.pdf
Bob Baker, "Daughter Killed by Lawn Dart", 1988 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-03-03-mn-317-story.html
*2024 is an estimate on what Edmonton is on pace for by year end. Data was pulled from various local news articles that communicated year-to-date numbers of traffic-related fatalities.
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