CCRSA reflects on a year of Action and Awareness in Caledon and community

October 30, 2025 · 0 Comments

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A year after its inception, the Caledon Community Road Safety Advocacy (CCRSA) group held a public meeting to discuss its current initiatives, where it’s been, and where it’s going.

The CCRSA is a not-for-profit organization that advocates for significantly improving road safety in Caledon and surrounding areas by addressing a range of critical issues.

The group, led by Franca Pisani, Carmela Anzelmo-Palkowski, and Amanda Corbett, was created after the September 10, 2024 collision at the intersection of Coleraine Drive and King Street West in Bolton that tragically took the life of 23-year-old Bolton woman Adrianna McCauley.

“The Town reacted with anger and hurt, and so I reached out, and the response was incredible,” said Pisani at that evening’s at CCRSA’s public meeting. “People that have known Pia [Adrianna’s mother] hurt, and they wanted this to stop. We’ve just been snowballing from there, and Pia’s been very engaged in everything, and we hope to, in Adrianna’s name, at least do something.”

“We’re getting everybody involved. Everybody’s finally starting to open their eyes.”

At the meeting that night were residents and representatives from every ward across Caledon, something the CCRSA says demonstrates that these issues are occurring across the Town.

There was also staff from the Town of Caledon with informational boards showing the potential east-west connector roads through the south end of Caledon.

CCRSA shared many initiatives that they have been working on for the past year to advocate for better road safety.

They have had various meetings with the Ontario Trucking Association, which will now launch a Caledon-specific campaign.

They have also held various protests around Caledon on road safety issues, including calls for better training and licensing, as well as against illegal truck yards.

CCRSA has participated in numerous conversations with various organizations and levels of government to continue advocating and spreading the word about the necessary changes they hope to see.

They are currently working with ecoCaledon to make headway on the environmental side of illegal truck yards.

“We believe that these truck yards are contaminating the waterways, drinking water, and it’s going right into the Humber and the Credit River,” says Pisani.

They have also been working with the OPP to develop a road safety presentation they intend to deliver to Caledon secondary schools to teach students about road safety.

This will include their driving simulator.

This simulator, which CCRSA brings to local events, gives users a firsthand experience not only of what it is like to drive a truck on the roads, but also of what it is like to drive next to one, as well as around snow plows and in various conditions.

Palkowski says they intend to get as many people as possible to see for themselves whether they’re as safe a driver as they think they are.

The simulator will also give users an idea of how long it takes a truck to slow down and stop, as well as give new drivers a firsthand experience of the dangers of impaired driving (alcohol and drugs), distracted driving, and speeding.

They also plan to have insurance brokers on hand at these presentations to explain how poor driving habits can affect insurance rates and even make it difficult to get insured.

They hope to see this program come into Caledon schools soon.

In the meantime, they will continue to bring the simulator to events and festivals across Caledon to show users what can happen in just a matter of seconds while driving.

The three, sitting down after the meeting, shared how inspiring it was to see the community come out that night.

“We wanted to tell people that it’s not about sitting behind your computer, that’s not what the page is about,” said Palkowski. “The page is about a bigger picture of a not for profit that we have to take action now. Let’s come together with solutions and let’s figure out how to fix this as residents.”

Their group page on Facebook has accumulated more than three thousand members.

The three agreed that the residents in Caledon are extremely special, and through working in other communities facing similar issues, they realized how involved Caledon is.

Corbett added that they really notice a difference, and other places “don’t have as much of a sense of community as there is in Caledon.”

She said not only is the night about reflecting on their work ahead, but also being proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish.

One thing they did take the time to reflect on is the work they do together.

“It’s three women who didn’t know each other before, and worked together so well,” said Corbett.

“If you have that dynamic, and we’ve been able to find it, it’s not common to find people that you click with so well,” says Palkowski. “We have each other’s backs.”

“I don’t think I could have found two better people in Caledon to work with in all this, and now I feel like we’re getting there. We have to push a little bit harder,” added Pisani.

“These are our roads. Our kids are on our roads. We’re on the roads. Our families, our friends. We don’t accept it. We want change,” said Palkowski.

“That’s why we keep going.”