Saskatoon city council approves safety audit of intersection where cyclist was killed

Tod Fox spoke through sobs as he told Saskatoon city council about the last time he saw his wife, Natasha Fox, a few hours before she was struck by a cement truck while cycling at a busy intersection in the city.

"Imagine for a second the beautiful faces you said goodbye to this morning," he said, with one of his and Natasha's two sons sitting beside him.

"Now imagine that was the last moment you got to spend with them, the last time you'd ever see them. That's my reality now."

City council heard from Tod and other cycling advocates Wednesday about cycling safety in the city and a proposed third-party road safety audit at the Wiggins Avenue and College Drive intersection where Natasha died on May 24.

WATCH | Tod Fox makes impassioned plea to Saskatoon city council following wife's death at busy intersection while cycling: 

Husband of Saskatoon cyclist killed by cement truck speaks to city council

1 year ago

Duration 5:46

Tod Fox, the husband of the Saskatoon cyclist who was killed by cement truck last month, makes an impassioned plea to city council for better road safety.

Council voted unanimously in favour of conducting the audit, using money designated for a capital expenditures reserve.

The motion was brought forward by Ward 6 Coun. Cynthia Block during a previous council meeting in the wake of Natasha's death.

"Every one of us who chooses to ride a bike in this city has people who worry about us every day, and who call us the moment they see a news release saying that there was an incident between somebody riding a bike and somebody in a car," Ward 2 Coun. Hilary Gough said.

The motion also asked for an update from administration on the city's Active Transportation Plan, including planned connections along College Drive and a budget option for an annual Road Safety Audit program. 

Transportation director Jay Magus expects the safety audit report could be completed by the end of the year.

What did residents say about the audit?

Tod told council their son asks why his mother died. 

"I tell him it was an accident. What kills me is that one day I will have to explain to him that this accident could have been prevented," he said.

"I am here to make damn sure you know that we failed her."

As Tod finished speaking, some councillors wiped their eyes with tissues. 

Dozens of people submitted comments to council in the week leading up to the meeting.

Some students were among the speakers. 

"I've come to realize that this city has a major problem — and it's bike safety on the roads," Lucy Stobbe, 17, told council members. "The amount of times that I've gotten honked at and yelled at on a daily basis is crazy."

Stobbe called for protected bike lanes and better education about cycling for drivers.

Saskatoon Cycles board chair Gordon Holtslander challenged councillors to ride from their homes to a destination in the city.

"We will have moments when we are in fear," he said.

Holtslander advocated for concrete barriers to protect bike lanes and rapid responses to acute cycling issues in the city.

LISTEN | Mayor Charlie Clark discusses bicycle safety ahead of council meeting: 

Saskatoon Morning9:18City council is grappling with how to create safer streets for cyclists and balance next year's budget

Jennifer Quesnel speaks with Mayor Charlie Clark about whether or not council is going to do something about the intersection where Natasha Fox died and also his thoughts on the massive budget shortfall and the potential tax hike.

Wiggins and College considered for cycling corridor

In 2014, city council considered building a cycling corridor that would run down Wiggins Avenue in response to calls to connect the city's southern neighbourhoods with the university.

Instead, a petition led by a cycling group asking for a bike lane downtown gathered widespread support and the Wiggins project was set aside.

In his impassioned plea to city council, Tod said he was certain his wife would still be alive if council had built the corridor.

"Council, your decisions have real life consequences. Avoiding decisions, deferring decisions, tabling decisions — those decisions have consequences," he said.

"Natasha was 115 pounds, and Saskatoon told her to share the road as an equal with a 66,000-pound cement truck."

Both the city and the university found Wiggins Avenue to be a strong candidate for a bike path in reports dating from 2013 to 2015. 

LISTEN | CBC's Dayne Patterson on the important aspects of council's decision ahead of their meeting: 

Saskatoon Morning9:59A decade ago city council considered a bike corridor at the intersection of Wiggins and College Drive, but it didn't happen

Therea Kliem talks with the CBC's Dayne Patterson about the renewed attention on cycling safety after the death of Natasha Fox. The 33 year old mother was killed at the Wiggins and College Drive. It turns out that intersection has a history. There was a decade's old plan to make that intersection safer, but those plans never came to fruition.

A spokesperson for the university said in a recent email that the school is committed to improving the intersection.

"As part of the current [Bus Rapid Transit] planning, the [university] and the City of Saskatoon have together agreed on a three-metre wide pedestrian and cyclist pathway along the north side of College Drive, and traffic-calming measures along College Drive," a University of Saskatchewan spokesperson said in an email.

The College Corridor Plan, as it's called, is expected to be presented to council later this year.