AVENUE ROAD SAFETY COALITION VIDEO

Video Production

For the safety of their neighbourhood, The Avenue Road Safety Coalition had a goal of having the very limited pedestrian sidewalk space on Avenue Road in Toronto expanded and traffic speeds limited. Toronto Creatives worked with The ARSC to produce a press video about their message, which was presented to Toronto City Council. During this meeting The ARSC was successful in achieving their goal and Toronto City Council agreed that something had to be done to increase pedestrian space and limit traffic speeds for public safety. 

The PSA style video featured multiple members of the community who supported The ARSC’s goal, and who could attest to the claims that the way that the road was set up was outdated, and no longer safe for pedestrians. The video also featured footage from a community-based event/press conference on Tuesday, September 29, 2020, where 17 Toronto organizations hung 10-foot banners along Avenue Road to raise awareness about their message, and speakers informed the public and press about the dangers of the current set up. The addition of video made The ARSC’s claims very hard to argue, as the video not only included shots of the problems they had laid out, but included the real stories of the neighbourhood’s inhabitants and their combined support. 

Toronto Creatives interviewed a range of residents of the community, from families concerned for their children who use the sidewalk to get to school, to elderly who refuse to use the sidewalk even if it will save them time due to safety concerns, to business owners who voiced that the safety concerns were hurting business in the area. Shots were captured of multiple cars speeding, driving dangerously close to the sidewalks and/or pulled over, as well as pedestrians having to walk out into the streets because the sidewalks were not large not enough for people to pass each other. The final product was a strong argument for the change that was necessary to keep people safe.

Toronto Creatives is proud to have helped The Avenue Road Safety Coalition in their goal of giving their communities pedestrians more safety as well as peace of mind. The neighbourhood includes a number of schools, care homes and religious centres and is now going to be a safer place for all it’s residents as well as visitors.