City council has asked the transportation department to find ways to speed up the implementation of its road safety plan, in the midst of a spate of collisions that left seven pedestrians dead in a little more than a week.

At the tail end of their three-day meeting Wednesday evening, council voted unanimously to have staff report to the public works committee next month on options to accelerate the plan, which was adopted last year and has been dubbed “Vision Zero” after the international movement to eliminate traffic fatalities.

The measure fell short of a motion put on the agenda by Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, which would have given immediate authorization to the manager of transportation services to implement the plan in two years, instead of five.

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Wong-Tam said while “it would be great” if council had approved her motion outright, she believed their decision was an acceptable compromise.

She said the city needs to take urgent action because of a rash of pedestrian deaths in recent years.

“I just feel like we could do a lot more,” she said.

“Keeping people safe should be our number one priority, and if we can do more at council then we certainly should.”

Public works chair Councillor Jaye Robinson, who is heading the road safety plan and moved the motion for the report, said that the city is already moving quickly to implement the plan.

“We’ve been basically on fast forward since the beginning,” she said.

“It’s going well, but we’ve got to roll this thing out as fast as we can.”

Last summer, in the middle of what turned out to be the worst year for pedestrian deaths in more than a decade, council approved a five-year, $80.3-million road safety plan.

The strategy focuses on protecting five categories of vulnerable road users: pedestrians, cyclists, school children, motorcyclists, and older adults.

It consists of 45 measures to be deployed at high-risk areas including “watch your speed” radar signs, better street lighting, longer pedestrian crossing times, lower speed limits, physical modifications to intersections, and the creation of “pedestrian safety corridors” and “seniors safety zones.”

Last year, 43 pedestrians were killed on Toronto’s streets, the highest number since at least 2005.

So far this year, at least 32 pedestrians have died, as well as two bicyclists, according to numbers compiled by the Star using police and media reports.

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Four pedestrians were killed in Scarborough in a single day last week, including a 33-year-old woman and her 5-year-old child. On Tuesday a 25-year-old woman was struck by a minivan driver in North York, and died after being taken to hospital.

In the hours after Wednesday’s council meeting adjourned, three more pedestrians were hit, including a 63-year-old woman who died in a hit-and-run collision, and a 21-year-old woman struck and killed while hailing a cab.

The report on speeding up the plan will go to the public works committee on Nov. 28, as part of an update on the strategy that was already planned.

Road safety measures scheduled for completion in 2017

Creation of 12 seniors safety zones, including “watch your speed” signs, increased pedestrian walk times, and enhanced pavement markings.

Red light cameras at 76 new locations.

Accessible pedestrian signals, including pushbutton poles and depressed curbs, at 20 locations.

Engineered safety improvements at 13 intersections.

Road safety audits at 14 locations.

Reduction of speed limits on 32 corridors.