Citizen groups demand Quebec road safety strategy in response to pedestrian deaths

Citizen groups are demanding the Quebec government implement a road safety strategy to better protect pedestrians.

At a Wednesday morning press conference in Montreal's Ville-Marie borough, the organizations Piétons Québec, CAA-Québec and Vivre en ville denounced the "inertia" of the provincial government, calling for measures to protect the safety of pedestrians after the death toll increased last year.

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According to a 2022 report from the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), 39 pedestrians were killed from January to September, an increase of 14.7 per cent compared to 2021.

Sandrine Cabana-Degani, executive director of Piétons Québec, stressed that road safety is a "national issue" and that a culture change must occur without delay.

She recalled that in 2018, Quebec committed to adopting a strategy based on the Vision Zero approach, but that it was still overdue.

The Vision Zero approach, first adopted by Sweden in 1997, is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries. Dozens of cities worldwide have implemented this philosophy into their practices, including New York, Vancouver, London and Canberra.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 11, 2023.