Last month, the city passed an important milestone. Toronto’s anxiety about whether it was a world-class city was displaced by its anxiety about traffic congestion and the fact that you could not travel around the city. Period. The world-class anxiety flowered when Art Eggleton was mayor in the 1980s, and for several decades it lurked
Now that Premier Ford has control of the highways for the Greater Toronto Area, he has an opportunity to implement a comprehensive congestion pricing plan for the region. Although he has dismissed the possibility out of hand, this government has shown itself to be adept at revisiting positions. Introducing road pricing or congestion fees in
City-appointed traffic agents will be deployed to key Toronto intersections this year to help with morning and afternoon peak travel periods. The agents are special constables and will ensure all road users comply with laws and regulations in an attempt to reduce congestion and increase road safety. “Expanding the City’s Traffic Agents Program is an
As cities around the world continue to move back to a normal state of operations following an easing of the global pandemic, the findings from a newly released report indicate that traffic congestion has returned with a vengeance. And, Toronto, ranks with the top cities around the world for the average number of hours driver’s
Mayor Tory has made a number of pledges and commitments; two of which appear to be at odds with each other.
Toronto turned a page on Oct. 27, and our new Toronto City Council is already hard at work. I was humbled by a landmark 83 per cent win and continue to be honoured by the incredible show of support right across Ward 25, Don Valley West. I heard a similar message at the door in
We wish we could pull a Marty McFly and bring this idea of “rush hour” back to the future. For now, we’ll just laugh about it (and quietly curse our grandparents — they don’t know how good they had it).
Decades in the making, years delayed, the idea of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT actually opening next summer is very realistic even if it seems too hard to believe at this point. When it does, life along the route will change, and quickly. The Eglinton Crosstown LRT’s journey began in 1985, when plans for a busway
The City of Toronto’s New Year’s Eve celebrations are set to return to the waterfront this year, offering Torontonians and visitors an opportunity to ring in 2025 with fireworks, live performances, and activities across several downtown locations. A high-altitude fireworks display, synchronized to music, will blast a beautiful scene into Toronto’s inner harbour skies at
A recent report detailing the financial and project management costs of the West Toronto Railpath Extension has verified that the project will cost an estimated $149 million, with funding for the project coming from a federal grant, city debt, and development charges. In 2016, the preliminary cost estimate of the project was $23 million, although
Doug Ford’s move to rip out bike lanes in Toronto is the latest in a trend of undermining democracy in Toronto that could set the city back decades, according to experts. One has to wonder if the provincial leader wants to remake Toronto as a car-first suburb unrecognizable from any of the booming bedroom communities
Toronto’s bike lanes have come under fire from the Ontario government, which is attempting not only to limit the city’s ability to create new, safe cycling infrastructure but is now also considering tearing out existing lanes. Blaming bike lanes for traffic congestion shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how urban transportation systems work. It also diverts
A group opposed to the city’s recent decision to ban commercial dog walkers from using a popular midtown Toronto park launched a petition to reverse the ban. In late June, Toronto city council adopted Councillor Dianne Saxe’s motion to prohibit commercial dog walkers from using Ramsden Park’s off-leash dog area, as it was “creating multiple
Ontarians could face bumper-to-bumper gridlock, even if the provincial government moves ahead with building Highway 413 and other new highways, according to internal Ministry of Transportation documents obtained by The Trillium through the freedom of information process. Highway 413 is part of Ontario’s plan to expand highways and public transit across the Greater Golden Horseshoe (the urban region
A proposal to expand the size and height of a mixed-use development at Bayview and Broadway is facing significant pushback from local residents. Both the Leaside Residents Association (LRA) and the Broadway Area Residents Association have expressed strong opposition to the plan. Back in 2021, an application was made to the City of Toronto for
The City of Toronto will increase parking fines for more than 100 offences to help stop illegal parking, stopping, and standing in high-traffic areas as of Aug. 1. The City noted in a news release that the goal of the increased fines is to help reduce congestion and encourage people to use other modes of
Ramped-up construction work will relieve gridlock for drivers on the Gardiner Expressway earlier than expected. At a press conference on Wednesday morning, Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow announced that the provincial government will provide up to $73 million to the City of Toronto to accelerate construction scheduling on the Gardiner
The majority of residents in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) agree that there is a traffic crisis in the region, according to a new poll conducted by Ipsos for the Toronto Region Board of Trade. The poll was conducted to see what GTHA residents think about congestion and if they’re altering their behaviours
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow is looking for ways to bring Toronto’s downtown core back to life. According to the Toronto Star, Chow has been meeting with the CEOs of some of Canada’s largest banks to discuss how to get Toronto workers back in the office at least four or even five days a week. “Well,
A new study reveals that travel times on the Gardiner Expressway — a major transportation route that is traveled by approximately 140,000 vehicles each day — have increased up to 250% on the westbound lanes during morning rush hour and 230% on eastbound lanes in the afternoon rush hour as a result of the latest
The City of Toronto is inviting residents to learn more about—and provide feedback on—the Beltline Gap Connections project. The project proposes a safe and connected route for cyclists and pedestrians over the Allen Road Expressway, closing the 475-metre gap between the York Beltline Trail and Kay Gardner Beltline Trail. “In the past ten years, there
Toronto city councillors voted in favour of raising parking fines as of August 1 at a council meeting on Wednesday after approving a city staff report on the issue. The report, conducted by the Transportation Services committee, which analyzed several other Canadian municipalities to compare similar parking offences and their penalty amounts to those of
With a TTC strike looming and part of the Gardiner reduced to two lanes—Toronto might be sitting on a ticking congestion time bomb that could potentially make summer commuting the worst in history. On Monday, the union representing nearly 12,000 public transit workers in Toronto took the first step toward a strike action, as contract
Toronto City Council will vote on proposed new bike lanes as updates to the city’s Cycling Network Plan as well as the Missing Links Sidewalk Projects this Wednesday. If approved, Torontonians could see rapid improvements in cyclist and pedestrian pathways this year. The proposal, which was reviewed and adopted with amendments by the Infrastructure and
As the eagerly anticipated total solar eclipse approaches on April 8, enthusiasts across Toronto are gearing up for a celestial spectacle that happens once every 375 years. While the city will only witness a partial eclipse, just a short distance away lies the path of totality, promising an awe-inspiring experience for those who venture to
