Council approves new plan to ease Toronto congestion, create 'traffic czar'

Toronto metropolis assembly approved a slew of measures Wednesday — including the aboriginal assignment of a "traffic czar" — to woody with postulation congestion, thing that's been a large headache crossed the city. 

The gathering saw councillors stock their section postulation gripes, overmuch of which stemmed from ongoing construction, which metropolis officials person identified arsenic the starring origin of worsening traffic. 

Here's what's being done successful 2025:

• Using caller exertion to determination radical much efficiently.

• Helping transit determination faster.

• Increasing on-the-ground postulation absorption astatine circumstantial intersections. 

• Implementing a strategy for postulation astir peculiar events.

• Planning and co-ordinating city-wide operation projects. 

If you're thinking, "that won't hole it," you're right.

City unit admit these recommendations "will not destruct congestion," and alternatively are the adjacent steps to managing the situation.  

Why it matters

Gridlock costs the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) $44.7 cardinal a twelvemonth successful economical and societal value, which includes mislaid productivity and reductions to commuters' prime of life, according to a December survey by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis. It was commissioned by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario and the Ontario Road Builders' Association.

What is simply a postulation 'czar' and who volition it be?

Mayor Olivia Chow introduced a palmy question asking metropolis manager Paul Johnson to found the caller presumption of a postulation "czar," who would pb Toronto's congestion strategy.

Although the metropolis already has a manager of postulation management, the caller relation would instrumentality much of a large representation attack to the issue. The "czar" would absorption connected originative solutions involving aggregate metropolis divisions to trim congestion, portion preemptively identifying challenges.

WATCH | Toronto politician talks traffic, transit task delays: 

Coun. Brad Bradford said Chow should beryllium appointing the relation herself, truthful she tin beryllium held accountable connected postulation results, and introduced an unsuccessful question to that effect.

"With beardown politician powers she could acceptable up this bureau today. She could adjacent name idiosyncratic today," helium said.

In response, Chow said portion she leads Toronto, she can't besides beryllium metropolis manager. 

The metropolis manager volition study backmost connected the relation to the city's infrastructure and situation committee successful June.

Making operation delays pay

Toronto is the busiest operation metropolis successful North America, according to the unit study earlier council. At its highest past summer, operation caused the impermanent closure of 24 per cent of each metropolis roads.

The metropolis is now charging operation companies much wealth for shutting down lanes of traffic. The existent fees, which came into effect this month, complaint companies a $76.15 exertion fee, past $40.71 per 50 metres, per day, for shutting down a lane of a large road.

The metropolis volition rise those fees using roadworthy closure information from this summer, successful an effort to propulsion companies to wrapper operation faster.

Affordable lodging projects and thoroughfare events will be exempt from the fees.

How overmuch gross volition that bring the city?

Advocating for the accrued fees, Mayor Chow mentioned a operation task that closed down lanes connected a 4.5-kilometre agelong of Lake Shore Boulevard for astir a month. She said the operation institution paid astir $5,000 for the closure.

"Starting this month, each time this institution closed down the Lake Shore, they volition wage more," she said. "The faster they bash their work, the little they pay."

WATCH | City study finds operation is key contributor to traffic: 

Under the caller fees, Chow said the institution would present wage astir $287,000 to adjacent down the aforesaid agelong for the aforesaid magnitude of time.

Staff told assembly the fees were already starring companies to effort to wrapper operation up of docket to prevention costs.

That wealth volition spell backmost to the city's congestion-fighting efforts.

Freeing up transit

The updated program volition look astatine however to grow transit awesome precedence — wherever Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) vehicles get longer greenish lights — to each high-ridership corridors.

The metropolis volition besides look astatine adding awesome precedence on the above-ground conception of the Eglinton LRT erstwhile it opens.

City unit volition besides beryllium directed to enactment connected a program with Toronto constabulary and the TTC to "significantly reduce" the fig of streetcar delays caused by improperly parked vehicles that artifact transit. That whitethorn see higher fines, accrued enforcement and faster timeframes for towing.

Additionally, the city's going to walk conscionable implicit $400,000 for a "Smart Commute Program" for 1 year. More connected that here.

What astir motorcycle lanes?

Coun. Gord Perks asked proscription caput Barbara Gray if she'd work astir an injunction an Ontario justice granted Tuesday to artifact the removal of respective large motorcycle lanes.

Gray confirmed she had. After much questions from Perks, Gray said motorcycle lanes don't summation congestion – astatine least, not to a level that can't beryllium dealt with by changing postulation awesome timing – and besides marque the roadway safer. 

You tin work much astir the injunction here.