Speakers whose lives have been devastated by road accidents will headline a rally at Queen's Park this weekend in opposition to the provincial government's controversial decision to curtail bike lanes.
The protest will mark the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, a global event recognized by the United Nations that draws attention to the emotional and economic impacts of car crashes.
Road traffic injuries are now the leading killer of people aged 5 to 29, according to event organizers, and up to 1.35 million people are killed annually in car crashes worldwide.
At 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Friends and Families for Safe Streets (FFSS) will lead the rally, which will be followed by a name-reading ceremony and candle-lit memorial walk.
“The very idea that our Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria want to drag Toronto and all of Ontario backward on road safety is heinous, callous, and shocking," spokesperson Jess Spieker said in a press release.
"Ripping out safe streets will get more innocent people killed in crashes that would otherwise have been prevented," she said. "Our provincial government should be trying to save lives, not trying to kill more loved ones and increase an already shocking death and injury toll from preventable car crashes across Ontario."
The group said by sharing stories of survival and remembering those who were killed, they can put a face to what they called a "crisis of road violence" in Ontario and demand provincial lawmakers back down from Bill 212.
According to FFSS, 616 people were killed across Ontario last year in preventable vehicle crashes and more than 36,000 others were injured.
The group called ripping out bike lanes "a cheap publicity stunt" and "a desperate effort to cling to a failed 1950s car-centric status quo."
The event will be the third major protest about bike lane removals at Queen's Park since Premier Ford's plan was announced.
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