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Humans of Toronto by K. Omar
Islington crosswalk ‘right thing to do’ road safety
Council votes for installation after resident’s emotional plea Luke Simcoe
Metro | Toronto
What I would share with my 12-year-old self is not to treat people the way you want to be treated but to treat people the way they want to be treated. It’s different with everybody. People are unique, and what you would want might not be exactly what they would want. You need to try to identify that within each person.
Humans of Toronto is K. Omar’s social photography project aimed at photographing and talking to people in the city. Selections from her work feature weekly in Metro. See more at Humans of Toronto on Instagram.
Laura Hayes hasn’t cried “tears of joy” since before her brother Jamie was killed eleven months ago. But as last week’s Etobicoke community council meeting came to a close, she finally did. Local councillors voted 12-2 to install a pedestrian-controlled crosswalk on Islington Avenue near Deerfoot Road — the site of Jamie’s death last fall. Jamie, 20, was crossing Islington mid-block on Oct. 10, 2015 when he was hit by a northbound driver. He died at the scene. “I feel like my journey is over,” said Hayes, who’s been campaigning the crosswalk for the past year. “Jamie didn’t die for nothing; something positive came out of it.” A staff report recommended against installing the crosswalk, saying the pedestrian volume was insufficient to warrant it. As a result, Hayes was prepared for the worst, but decided to make an emotional appeal to councillors anyway. It worked. “She was in tears quite quickly into her presentation, and of course that affects you,” said
Laura Hayes next to a memorial tree planted for her brother, Jamie Hayes, in Dufferin Grove. Liz Beddall/Metro File
Coun. Sarah Doucette. Doucette said she and her fellow councillors supported the crosswalk because of its proximity to two TTC bus stops, as well as the tendency for drivers to speed down Islington. “It all added up to the right thing to do,” she said. With the number of pedestrian fatalities on Toronto streets rising — 28 have been killed this year — Hayes said the community council’s decision is a sign the city is beginning to change lanes on road safety. “The city has these guidelines and books that they follow and they can’t step outside of them. But this time they did,” she said. “It was an act of humanity and compassion.” Hayes said staff told her it could take a year for the crossing to be installed. When it does
laura hayes Hayes was one of the grieving family members profiled during Metro’s Deadly Streets series earlier this year. She discussed the hole Jamie’s death has left in her life, and her efforts to prevent others crossing Islington from suffering the same fate. “I need his death to mean something,” she said at the time. She made her case to the community council in June, but the matter was deferred.
arrive, she knows exactly what she’s going to do. “I’m going to be the first person to push that button,” she said.