http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/443682
'We need a crosswalk' area residents say after women in late 20s struck by car
Jun 15, 2008 04:30 AM
Huixia Sun
Nicole Baute
Staff Reporters
The crosswalk was simply too far away, so the two young women, who had just finished their late-night shift at a local factory, started to cross Pharmacy Ave. early yesterday morning.
It was raining, and the two Chinese immigrants, both in their late 20s, were huddled under an umbrella as they crossed the four-lane street near Arnall Ave. in the city's east end.
The women were hit by a Honda Accord headed southbound on Pharmacy Ave. before they made it halfway. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
The closest intersection with traffic lights and a crosswalk, at McNicoll Ave., is 400 metres away.
"It was waiting to happen," said a neighbour who came to the scene yesterday morning. He said he'd been fighting for a crosswalk near Arnall Ave. for years.
There are bus stops on either side of the street near where the women were killed, shortly after midnight, and neighbours said people rarely walk up to McNicoll to cross.
"We need a crosswalk," said Roger Bissoon, 22, who lives with his family on the corner of Pharmacy and Arnall.
"I have a sister and she crosses the street right here, too," he said. "A lot of people use that bus stop."
Councillor Mike Del Grande (Scarborough-Agincourt) said he asked the city's traffic engineers to look into putting a crosswalk in that very place a few years ago, after a concerned resident contacted him.
"Being elderly, they didn't want to run across the street," he said. Del Grande was disappointed when the city wasn't able to do it.
"There's some sort of regimen that determines when you put them in and when you don't," he said. "This centre section did not qualify for it."
Neighbours also worry that drivers speed down the smooth, wide street, especially during the evenings when traffic is light.
"This stretch of road says 60 (km/h), but people will run it," said Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis (Scarborough-Agincourt).
Police do not believe speed or alcohol to be a factor in yesterday's accident. They said the driver was a 49-year-old Toronto man who stopped his car to try to help the victims. No charges have been laid.
Sgt. Brian Bowman said lighting on that section of Pharmacy is poor, and that the women may not have been able to see the oncoming vehicle because their umbrella obstructed their view.
Police said they would not identify the young women in keeping with the wishes of their families, who live in China.
But Jiajing Chen said her friend and former roommate, Guizhi Chen, 28, was one of the victims.
Guizhi Chen immigrated to Canada two years ago from China's Fujian province, Jiajing Chen said. She had been taking an English course during the day and usually worked from 3:30 p.m. until midnight at the factory.
Jiajing Chen said her friend had recently passed an English test and was happy about that.
"Chen planned to have a new job rather than a factory worker after her English is better," said Jiajing Chen.
http://www3.thestar.com/static/PDF/080615_pharmacy_accident.pdf
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