What are the police doing in High Park? Do cyclists present a safety issue or is the Toronto Police going too far? It’s a little complicated.
Toronto Police Services (TPS) is being criticized for their presence in High Park. Officers are accused of over policing cyclists who are frustrated with the number of tickets being handed out. A cyclist caught going more than 1 km/h over the park’s 20 km/h speed limit may receive a fine of $110. Mayor Tory stands by the police stating that speeding cyclists jeopardize the safety of pedestrians trying to enjoy the park. Critics say that the Mayor and ticketing practices are out of touch with the reality of traffic violations and cycling in Toronto. Furthermore, the conduct of some of the officers at the park has raised questions around police professionalism.
Balencing safety and fairness in High Park
For many cyclists, the issue is one of uneven enforcement. Why are resources being spent on policing cyclists going 21 km/h hour while bad drivers seem to be ignored? According to data from TPS there were 40 fatal traffic collisions in 2020. Not one of those accidents was the result of a speeding bicycle in High Park. Moreover, last march CTV News reported that the police failed to issue 89,000 speeding tickets to irresponsible drivers caught on camera.
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In the past few weeks, police officers have again played fast and loose with the enforcement of the law. Cyclists have seen police officers illegally driving their cars in the park’s bike lanes while ticketing cyclists for not following the rules of the road. Even more ironically, on August 2nd a police officer allegedly hit a cyclist with their car shortly after fining other cyclists for their supposedly reckless speeding. The suspected officer Blain Young allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign and claims to not have seen the cyclist because the sun was in his eyes.
While it is important to make sure that pedestrians and cyclists are both able to use the park safely, it’s questionable whether or not the police presence actually contributes to park safety. Just a day before the previous incident an officer may have accidentally hit a cyclist, and another officer may have pushed one over on purpose. The cyclist in question reports being pushed off her bike by a man who claimed he wanted to teach her a lesson after he thought he saw her fail to stop at a stop sign. David Snellnut, a personal injury lawyer focusing on cycling related issues claims that this man is in fact an off duty Officer Patrick Stewart of 52 Division.
Is this a problem for the police?
The intensity of police activity as well as the potential disregard on part of the police for the safety of the very park goers they’re meant to protect raises some important questions. Are the police offering the services necessary to deal with the problem they’ve been called to solve? Or are they making new problems? Are speeding cyclists meaningfully endangering other park goers? Are there better ways to keep the park safe for all its users? These are definitely questions that need to be answered as we approach the upcoming election.
