I want Richmond Hill residents to know that I hear your concerns about safety in our city. As your Mayor, I am listening and working to do all I can to ensure our city is a safe one.

This is a new, regular column that I am adding to my monthly e-newsletter to share information with Richmond Hill residents. I will offer insights from my close working relationship with the York Region Police District 2. ‘Community Safety’ is very broad, so I will focus on one topic each month.

Visit my YouTube page for my latest video on the topic of community safety.

June is Bicycle Safety Month so I would like to kick off this column with a focus on Road Safety. As the warmer weather entices riders of all ages onto our roads and paths, it is a good time to consider how we can all be active participants in road safety. I encourage you to come out to the Bike Safety Event happening June 7 in partnership with RoadWatch and YRP promoting safe cycling practices, including reminders about bicycle safety rules, helmet usage, and driver awareness.

Considering road safety and vehicular traffic, this graphic shows the number of incidents so far in 2025 as reported by YRP in Richmond Hill. You can also see the year to date trends in green (showing a decrease) or red (showing an increase).

When we look at those same statistics and compare all the municipalities in York Region by population, it is interesting to note that Richmond Hill is in the bottom half of incidents, showing fewer overall incidents per 100,000 than many of our regional neighbours.

This presents the other side of the story – we need to always prioritize safety AND we are doing a good job!

This ‘year to date’ reporting should only improve over time as we implement the Road Safety actions identified in the 10 year Traffic Safety and Operations Strategy. I am happy to see that my Member Motion to give us more proven tools to address traffic safety in our communities  has resulted in providing data allowing staff to create targeted, impactful change where it is most needed.

Earlier this year, traffic calming measures, including speed cushions, gateway features, flexible bollards, curb extensions and enhanced pavement markings and signage, were installed at 17 locations across the city which helped reduce speeding in neighborhoods by up to 22% and decrease traffic volume by up to 17%. I have heard from many residents that the flexible bollards were removed, but that was done so that winter road clearing efforts could be completed.

In 2025, in addition to installing more traffic calming measures at the 18 locations (three locations in each ward) the City will also:

• Expand their existing annual pole-mounted radar board program, increasing the number of locations from three per ward to five per ward
• Add 13 new pedestrian crossovers at key locations across the city to assist pedestrians crossing the road (with installation in 2025/2026)
• Reduce speed limits from 50 km/h to 40 km/h at 17 locations across the city
• Pilot a boulevard sign program in each ward

Managing traffic while keeping pedestrians and cyclists safe on City roads is a top priority for Richmond Hill as the City continues to grow and mature. To learn more about the priority locations identified for traffic calming, visit RichmondHill.ca/Traffic.

We all have a role to play in fostering a safe community – find out what steps we as citizens can take, from joining the Security Camera Registry to reporting crime information on the York Region Police website.

Learn more about Road Safety in York Region, all year long