We received an e-mail from a bicyclist in Toronto alerting us to the following research paper in the current American Journal of Public Health: 'Route Infrastructure and the Risk of Injuries to Bicyclists: A Case-Crossover Study'.
Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto studied 690 bicycle accidents that occurred in Toronto and Vancouver. Of the crashes that occurred in Toronto, streetcar tracks directly accounted for 31.5% of all bike accidents in the city that led. (The study did not count collisions between bicyclists and streetcars).
The research project determined that of the accidents involving tracks, 19 cyclists (19.8 percent) said their tires slipped on the tracks and 77 (80.2 percent) said their tires got caught in the tracks.
St. Michaels' Hospital was one of four hospitals in Toronto and Vancouver whose patients were tracked in the study. (At least 20 hospitals and healthcare facilities in and around Toronto provide general medical services for bicycle accident-related injuries).
Why is Arlington going forward with this dangerous streetcar system?