Boris Brott’s hit-and-run death is part of a recent spike in pedestrian collision fatalities

Beloved conductor Boris Brott is just the latest of 16 pedestrians killed by a vehicle in Hamilton since the start of last year, a rate of roughly one such death per month.

That's nine fatal pedestrian collisions in 2021 - the city's highest annual total in a decade - and another seven deaths in just the first few months of this year.

Other victims this year include a retired 70-year-old mechanic and his dog, both killed in a hit and run on Lawrence Road; a 71-year-old man struck by a bus while walking across Cannon Street; and three middle-aged workers from the GTA, killed in a fiery crash with an out-of-control stolen car simply because they were standing on the Delta sidewalk.

The stats sound terrifying for anyone who walks Hamilton streets - but it's also not that simple.

The annual number of collisions that injure or kill pedestrians has actually dropped for several consecutive years" since a 2016 high of 270, said Mike Field, the city's transportation operations manager. During the pandemic, that number plunged to a low of 140 last year.

Perplexingly, that means in 2021 Hamilton simultaneously saw the fewest pedestrian-hurting collisions in the last decade - but also the most pedestrian deaths.

Sean Hurley wonders if that statistical decline in injury collisions is due to lower pandemic traffic volume - or maybe a fearful populace. My argument would be many streets are so dangerous people are actually afraid to walk anywhere near them right now," said Hurley, who started a Hamilton road safety Facebook page where residents post collision photos and close calls.

The perception out there is that it is dangerous and recent (fatal) incidents only reinforce that perception."

Deputy police chief Paul Hamilton agreed the number of pedestrian deaths is way too high," but added there is no easy explanation for the sudden spike." City traffic experts, too, say they don't see an obvious trend in recent fatal collisions - unless it's criminal behaviour like hit-and-runs or stolen vehicles.

Hamilton said police focus on changing driver behaviour, including targeting speeding, distracted and impaired driving. Police also work with the city on tackling high-collision intersections with specific enforcement efforts.

But preventing collision deaths that involve criminal behaviour is more difficult. Someone who is driving a stolen car or who is already a prohibited driver are less likely to be deterred by traffic enforcement, for example.

Field said the city cannot do much about criminal behaviour or aggressive driving - the latter a trend along with excessive speeding that police noted more often on empty roads during the pandemic.

But he emphasized the city has committed to the Vision Zero" goal of eliminating road deaths. That program, so far, has cut neighbourhood speed limits, added more speed bumps and protected bike lanes, introduced photo-radar and added new red-light intersection cameras.

Those efforts are important, said Brody Robinmeyer, who heads the Friendly Streets program for Black, Indigenous and racialized communities. But I don't think we're doing well enough."

Robinmeyer said the recent lethal" consequences for residents who walk the city suggests there is a deeper issue with street design and usage" that the city needs to address - ideally by redesigning streets as more than a space for automobile drivers to get from A to B."

That could mean anything from slowing or narrowing streets to planting more trees, he suggested.

Hurley said there's a role for the city, but also for police and provincial legislators to crack down on toxic road culture" and aggressive drivers who weaponize" vehicles.

The city, he added, still has a five-lane, one-way invitation to speed" in Main Street and an annual collision magnet in the Main and Dundurn Street intersection - where a 14-year-old girl was badly injured by a turning vehicle last week.

Ward councillor Maureen Wilson brought a motion to study safety improvements for the intersection to the most recent public works meeting. A similar safety study of the Delta, courtesy of ward councillor Nrinder Nann, is also on the way.

That's great, said Hurley - if it finally results in action. They've known it was dangerous for a long time, but it's not fixed yet," he said.

-With files from Nicole O'Reilly

Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com