When Eva Gutsche and Bernadette Glover recently went out to dinner with their 88-year-old mother, Giselle Gutsche, the sisters had no idea it would be the last time they would see her.
After a close game of Canasta — everything started with Canasta when it came to Giselle — the three headed out to celebrate Eva’s birthday with a dinner at Tatlow’s in East Gwillimbury.
They chatted happily about future plans to visit the Azores with family from Germany, and more immediate plans with their niece and her kids to visit attractions in Toronto and Niagara, before dropping off Giselle at The Elden of Bradford retirement residence that evening.
The follow afternoon, on Monday Sept. 30, Giselle was struck by a vehicle and killed while walking along the gravel shoulder on the east side of Sideroad 10 just in front of the Bradford Sports Dome and the Bob Fallis Sports Centre.
Her daughters suspect she was on the way from the Elden to the SmartCentres plaza.
Eva said she was asleep at her Toronto home Monday evening when her tenant woke her to say there was a Toronto police officer at the door, who informed her Giselle had been in an accident from which she did not recover.
“It was a huge shock,” Eva said. “We had a lovely night and then 24 hours later, you find out your mother is gone.”
As the officer spoke, Eva said she understood his words, but couldn’t fully grasp their “horrible” meaning as she felt almost in shock.
“As soon as I comprehended it I was hysterical. I was sobbing uncontrollably,” she said.
On Tuesday, Eva and Bernadette picked up their mother’s personal effects from police, before heading to the Elden to arrange clearing out her room.
Stopping at the nearby scene of the crash, the sisters said they found bits of vehicle debris and pieces of Giselle’s belonging, including her cellphone cover and key fob.
Bernadette still feels in shock, especially since her mother was known for frequently heading out with her walker to stay fit and even took pride in her step counts — something they would talk about over the phone almost everyday.
“She felt better when she walked, she needed to walk,” Bernadette said. “We would push her to walk, and here’s what happened. I can hardly forgive myself for that.”
Grief turns to anger, calls for action
Now, that shock and grief is turning to anger and frustration.
The sisters can’t understand why the town would allow a retirement residence with 154 suites to be built along an arterial road with no sidewalks, no pedestrian crossing and a 60 km/h speed limit, leaving vulnerable seniors with little choice but to cross active lanes and navigate the gravel shoulders as both personal and commercial truck traffic whizzes past.
“My mother died needlessly in a ditch because there’s no sidewalk,” Eva said.
While the east side of Sideroad 10 does have sidewalk from Holland Street to just north of Reagens Industrial Parkway, that still leaves more than 700 metres to the intersection with Line 8 and the intersection itself completely deprived of any considerations for pedestrians.
The sisters said Giselle had been working with other residents to raise the issue since she moved into the Elden last November, and now, the sisters say they’re going to take up the torch and continue pushing for a full sidewalk, proper crossings, a lower speed limit and better signage to remind drivers that vulnerable people live and walk in the area.
“It’s so ironic that such a wonderful community would allow that to happen,” Bernadette said of the fatal collision. “It always takes something horrible before something’s done. That should not be the way.”
The sisters said they’re hoping to speak during the Monday evening meeting of the town’s new strategic initiatives committee, which recently amalgamated two previous advisory committees for strategic projects as well as community and traffic safety.
In the meantime, the family has started an online petition which has already gathered more than 1,900 signatures in favour of building the sidewalk, and also created an online fundraiser which has already collected more than $2,100 to contribute towards the cost of the sidewalk and other safety measures.
Town facing delays for road upgrades
While the section of Sideroad 10 was resurfaced in May along with Line 8 between Sideroad 10 and Yonge Street as an interim solution to the crumbling roads, a larger project to expand both roads remains delayed.
Deputy CAO, Mahesh Ramdeo did not directly answer why sidewalks had not already been added, nor why they weren’t considered for inclusion as part the resurfacing, but explained pedestrian facilities will be considered as part of the environmental assessment (EA) for the future expansion.
“We are deeply saddened to hear about the tragic incident involving a pedestrian who was struck by a vehicle in our town,” he said via email. “Our hearts go out to the victim and their loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.”
Recommended design options have yet to be determined, since the EA process, which started in 2016, was suspended in 2020. However, Ramdeo confirmed the process is still expected to restart later this year with public consultations, and is anticipated to be complete by the end of 2025.
That will then need to be submitted to and approved by the provincial Ministry of Transportation, but Ramdeo expects that by the end of 2025 staff will recommend to council a time frame for the expansion.
The town also provided the most recent traffic counts for the intersection of Sideroad 10 and Line 8 from Oct. 12, 2022, which showed just one pedestrian on Line 8, compared to 331 vehicles and another 821 vehicles on Sideroad 10.
The sisters called the delay in implementing safe pedestrian options a “huge oversight,” adding they “truly believe” that had a sidewalk already been installed, their mother would still be with them.
Memories of mother
In light of the tragic loss, Eva and Bernadette are cherishing the memories of their mother.
Born on May 8, 1936, Giselle immigrated to Canada after the Second World War and started a life with her husband Manfred, who had three children together and started a lingerie shop on the Danforth in Toronto, according to Eva.
Later, Giselle would become a “very good salesperson” with Avon, before going back to college in the late ’70s to get her degree in computer programming and worked for a marketing company until she eventually retired and the couple moved to Bond Head.
“She was very active in the community,” Eva said, noting her mother’s work with the history association, seniors centre and garden club.
“Giselle was a person with whom we could share our every thought and be immediately understood, because she had the gift to see into our hearts,” Bond Head/Bradford Garden Club president Mikki Nanowski said in a message to members.
The sisters recalled fondly how for years their mother would create “lovely” baskets of flowers to sell on Mother’s Day to raise proceeds for the club — enough baskets to fill a flatbed trailer which sometimes drove their father “nuts.”
Giselle enjoyed picking wildflowers and had a knack for winning awards with what others might see as nothing but weeds.
That love of gardening was passed down to the daughters, as was her skills in the kitchen creating “incredible” home-cooked meals.
To this day both Eva and Bernadette agree there mother’s roast duck with red cabbage remains a favourite meal, especially if it was followed by her plum cake or strawberry tort.
“My parents kept a little bit of the German heritage and culture,” Eva said of her mother’s recipes.
All of that was done with care to ensure nothing was wasted — a habit learned during war time that made their mother an “environmentalist ahead of her time,” according to Eva.
Their mother also kept her sense of humour and was known for her “infectious” laughter.
“When she got going, it would take over the whole room,” Eva said, noting the sisters never quite understood why their mother found some Canadian expressions to be “hilarious,” but appreciate that she found humour even in small things.
She was also very social, going out with friends to the legion or the seniors centre three or four nights a week.
Above all, Giselle had a strong spirit.
“She was fiesty,” Eva said. “She didn’t back down very easy. She would go to bat for what she believed in.”
That was part of why the daughters hadn’t pushed their mother to break her bonds with the community and move closer to them.
“We know why she stayed here, and we didn’t twist her arm,” Bernadette said adding “everyone has been incredibly kind, considerate and thoughtful” following Giselle’s death.
Police say investigation ongoing
The sisters said they received several calls from staff at the Elden who were concerned their mother was out walking by herself, but when they spoke to Giselle about it, she insisted on the importance of maintaining her independence and staying fit.
The sisters praised the “great staff” at the Elden and its “incredible amenities” as a “lovely place to live,” which does have a shuttle to offer seniors safe transportation for group outings.
Michael Petersen, president and CEO of Levante Living, which took over operation of the Elden on Dec. 1, 2023, said he couldn’t release any details about residents due to confidentiality, and wasn’t certain how often residents or staff walk along that section of road.
“We were very sad to hear about this incident,” he said via email.
On Friday, a small memorial to Giselle could be seen at the front desk in the lobby of The Elden.
Similarly, police could not provide additional details as the investigation is ongoing, and statistical data on the number of incidents involving pedestrians for that section of road was not immediately available.
Meanwhile, Staff Sgt. David Phillips provided the following safety tips for pedestrians:
- Make sure you can be seen. Never assume a motorist can or should see you.
- Use sidewalks whenever they are safely available. When sidewalks are unavailable, pedestrians must walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.
- Pedestrians must obey traffic control signals, signs and pavement markings when they are crossing a street.
- Use crosswalks and obey crossing signals. When attempting to cross, always look left, right, and left again. Don’t text while crossing.
- Never assume a driver has seen you. Establish eye contact or adjust your activity to make sure drivers are aware of your presence.
- Wear high visibility clothing, add reflective material and equip yourself with a light when on or near the roadway to increase visibility, especially when walking at night.
He also stressed that drivers should expect pedestrians, especially as the community continues to grow, adding that drivers should avoid distractions like cellphones and obey speed limits at all times.
