Road accidents in the City of Toronto are a big issue for our city. If you take the road daily, chances are, you see or hear about an accident every other day and chances are you’ve been involved in one. In fact, from 2006-2020, 2,297 people lost their lives due to fatal road-related accidents, and over 14,000 nonfatal injuries. This data story looks at Traffic Collisions by a number of different dimensions, with clear evidence that even with the Zero Vision Program in place, we still see Toronto’s approach to Vision Zero isn’t making streets safer.

Toronto is Canada's most populous city with nearly three million people, or six and a half million if you count the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with its own unique culture, an exciting food scene, and diverse population. Whatever your interests are, there's something for everyone. But is it safe? Like every other city, Toronto isn't perfect. While there's no easy answer, in 2021 The Economist magazine, looked at sixty cities across five different continents for its annual Safe Cities Index, in its fourth iteration. This index looks at 76 indicators, covering digital, health, infrastructure, personal, and - new in 2021 - environmental security. However Blanket statements like, "Yes, Toronto is safe," are perhaps helpful in the general sense, but they don't tell the full story, nor do I want to provide the impression that Toronto is a utopia. Every city has a crime problem, and unfortunately, Toronto is no exception. When speaking to residents, there is a perception that crime is increasing, and certain neighborhoods are dangerous. But does that perception mirror reality? When I first started this analysis I was very much interested in crime statistics and neighbourhood crime rates can be useful indicators of crime patterns in the city as a possible tool for managing and controlling crime in an area (Ombati, 2017). In Short, to assess crime trends in Toronto better understand crime fluctuations over the years and what neighbourhoods were most affected by crime. But as I dug deeper I realized these crime statistics don't adequately capture the complexities of why these crimes occur. What came shining through is that not all neighbourhoods have the same opportunities. Carelessly labeling neighbourhoods as more dangerous without addressing the underlying factors which may be contributing to the crime rates can have harmful implications for these communities, including stigmatization by the public, media-driven perceptions of crime in Toronto, and increased police presence and profiling (Jahiu & Cinnamon 2021). Rather than just identify where crime occurrences take place, I re-framed my thinking and looked to better understand crime fluctuations over the years and what neighbourhoods were most affected by crime. My intention through this analysis of crime through exploration of the data, overall trends, temporal, and spatial lens with overlays of additional data points will provide a visual representation of areas of concentrated crime, and point out that certain neighbourhoods are disenfranchised and disadvantaged. By using a combination of descriptive and advanced geosptaial analysis determine with some level of specificity which neighbourhoods are disenfranchised by crime. That the daily rhythm of crime is felt at the level of specific intersections, blocks, housing communities, and apartment buildings. Knowing where these are can help policymakers determine where intervention methods should be focused, and for what type of occurrences.