

Chris Fox, CP24.com





Dozens of cyclists took part in a memorial ride on Wednesday morning in honour of a 54-year-old man who was struck and killed by a truck while on his way to work last week.

Douglas Crosbie was biking westbound on Dundas Street at around 8 a.m. on May 16 when he was struck by a vehicle that was attempting to make a right hand turn onto Jones Street.

He was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries a short time later. He was the 18th pedestrian or cyclist to die on city streets so far in 2018. In 2017, a total of 42 pedestrians or cyclists died on city streets.

“I think new rules to protect venerable road users are important because there is just nothing on the books now that can actually encourage people to ride on our streets,” ride organizer Geoffrey Bercarich told CP24. “I would love to encourage people to ride but unfortunately the fear is keeping about 90 per cent of cyclists off the streets. There is a lot of us and we are not able to ride because we are afraid.”

Bercarich said that “there is not enough laws protecting cyclists” and not enough enforcement of existing rules.

“We need laws to protect all people using all the roads; not just motorists,” he said.

‘Ghost bike’ affixed to post

The eight-kilometre memorial ride on Wednesday morning began at Spadina Avenue and Bloor Street and wrapped up at the intersection of Dundas Street and Jones Avenue, where organizers chained a white “ghost bike” to a post near the spot where Crosbie was killed.

Speaking with CP24 at the scene, Crosbie’s widow Christine said that her husband chose to bike to work because he felt it was the right thing to do.

She said that it was “wonderful” to see so many people show up to honour her husband while also “raising awareness about bicycle safety and the need for better paths and better infrastructure.”

“He was someone who knew how to do the right thing and riding to work in Toronto is the right thing to do if you possibly can. It is good for traffic, the environment and good for your health and I think he did it for all of those reasons,” she said. “He just felt it was the right thing to do.”

Police told CP24 on Wednesday that the investigation into last week’s collision is closed and no charges have been laid.

At the time of the crash last week, Ward 30 Councillor Paula Fletcher told reporters the bike lane markings in the area were faded, and that created a dangerous situation.

“It’s poorly painted,” she said at the time. “There’s no green paint, there’s nothing that tells a truck driver that they’re coming to a bike lane intersection.”

Crosbie was a journalist who had recently won a Canadian Screen Award for the documentary Mayday, according to his obituary.

He is survived by his wife Christine and children Marina and Davis.