Latest news with #Gridlocked:TheWayOut
CBC
20-02-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Board of trade wants to tackle Toronto's congestion crisis with these 5 solutions
More than five kilometres of the Gardiner Expressway suffer from severe congestion that doubles travel times in Toronto during rush hour periods. The highway is one of a dozen major downtown corridors facing at least a kilometre's worth of congestion that's bad enough to make a trip take one and a half to two times longer at peak times, according to a travel time analysis commissioned by the Toronto Region Board of Trade. The new traffic data, billed as the most comprehensive portrait to date of the city's gridlock, serves as the backbone to the board's congestion action plan, which it released this morning. For more than a year, the board's task force has been digging into the problem of congestion, which it considers a top regional and economic challenge that could be costing the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) $44.7 billion a year in economic and social value. "Despite years of conversation and well-intended short-term fixes, we remain gridlocked," Giles Gherson, the board's president, said in a statement. "In the face of unprecedented economic uncertainty, it is more important than ever to tackle a crisis that is holding us back." Today's report both quantifies parts of the problem — like travel time and the cost of lane closures — and offers five areas of action the task force argues can help alleviate congestion. CBC Toronto explored many of the potential solutions highlighted by the task force in a three-part series, Gridlocked: The Way Out, last month. Here's a look at the five key areas of action the task force is suggesting for Toronto. 1. Reduce lane closures This year, roughly 10 per cent of all Toronto streets, or 550 kilometres of roadway, will be occupied by construction work zones at some point, according to the report. Given existing demands on the road, the task force argues there needs to be a higher bar for lane closures and the city needs to actively manage how long they last. The board hired infrastructure consultant Steer to assess the cost of lane closures in the city. Toronto charges a maximum of $37,000 per month to close a lane of traffic for construction, and determines the price based on lost revenue from nearby parking meters, according to the report. But the report argues that pricing scheme grossly underestimates the actual cost. Steer's analysis found the social and economic costs (like increased travel times, vehicle operating costs and pollution from congestion) of closing a major arterial lane amount to $1.7 million per month. Those social and economic costs should be part of the decision making process for granting lane closures, the report argues. And closures with the greatest impact should have limits — like not allowing closures on major arterial roads during peak travel hours. Other major cities like Singapore, Sydney and Chicago don't allow lane closures on major streets during peak hours, and New York doesn't allow lane closures on major streets during the day. "By implementing dynamic pricing for closures and encouraging off-peak construction, we can strike a better balance between necessary construction and the flow of traffic," said Alex Avery, CEO of Primaris REIT and a member of the task force's governing council. As CBC Toronto previously reported, the city is working to improve its construction management. Council passed a congestion management plan last fall that includes a levy for builders who block lanes of traffic for construction. The fee would increase based on the size and duration of the closure. The action report also supports 24/7 construction where possible, as was adopted to accelerate the timeline for construction on the Gardiner. 2. Enforce the rules of the road The next piece of the puzzle for the task force is enforcement to correct driver behaviour. Police officers and traffic agents can't be everywhere. So the report suggests adopting automated enforcement, with cameras catching drivers blocking intersections, double-parking and stopping in bike lanes and at bus stops. WATCH | CBC Toronto gets demo of automated enforcement in Seattle: Why Toronto is looking to Seattle to help solve gridlock 24 days ago Duration 10:38 On a quest to figure out how to fix traffic, CBC Toronto travels to Seattle to get a behind-the-scenes look at how cameras seem to be deterring drivers from blocking intersections and driving in bus lanes. CBC Toronto got a first-hand look at what that kind of enforcement looks like in Seattle, where they use it for blocking intersections and bus lanes — and it appears to be changing driver behaviour. Toronto is working on an automated enforcement pilot but it isn't likely to start issuing tickets for blocking the box until sometime in 2026 at the earliest, and aspects of the program still require provincial approval. 3. Unclog the arteries The task force commissioned an in-depth analysis of traffic in the downtown core from Parsons engineering firm. It found that most of the worst-congested corridors downtown are east-west arterials like the Gardiner, Bloor Street and Lakeshore Boulevard, which "no longer serve their purpose to keep traffic flowing." Overall, the analysis identified a dozen corridors where travel times during peak periods took at least one and a half times longer (than in free flowing traffic) across at least a kilometre of the roadway. The report suggests identifying "major connector roads" to plan which ones will absorb traffic when another connector road is disrupted, and moving bike lanes off of those roads to keep traffic moving. It also recommends incentivizing off-peak deliveries. One way to do that, it says, would be to reduce permit fees for night or early morning operations for businesses that receive those deliveries. 4. Clear the bottlenecks The action plan also identifies specific problem areas for traffic flow in the city that it says could be fixed by re-engineering the road design. Those changes include restricting turning movements on Harbour and York Streets to prevent weaving between lane conflicts and restricting lane changes on the Gardiner between York Street and Spadina Avenue for the same reason. The task force also supports implementing traffic signals for Gardiner on-ramps at York and Spadina as a pilot project to maintain traffic flow by controlling the pace of vehicles merging onto the highway. WATCH | The difference between a smart highway and existing highways: How using AI on highway ramps could keep traffic moving 23 days ago Duration 0:57 Baher Abdulhai, an engineering professor at the University of Toronto, demonstrates the difference between a smart highway and existing highways using funnels to represent the highways and rice kernels to represent cars. Last month, the city's director of traffic management, Roger Browne, told CBC Toronto it doesn't have any plans to implement traffic signals on on-ramps because there isn't much space for queuing vehicles off highways. He also said it might not be within Toronto's control, given the city uploaded oversight of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway to the province in 2023. 5. Implement accountability mechanisms The report advocates for a new reporting structure at the city when it comes to congestion, which would include a cross-departmental czar who would review all city business through a congestion lens. But the action plan argues fixing congestion can't all be up to Toronto. It impacts the entire GTHA, and so there needs to be regional coordination to fix things. The solution for that, the report says, is creating an intergovernmental table for congestion management, chaired by the province. The task force hopes the city and provincial governments act on those five action areas immediately. But in the future, the report emphasized the need for increasing transit ridership, building even more rapid transit lines than those already planned and expanding water-based transportation. Finally, the report advocated taking a look at ways to implement targeted congestion pricing once more transit alternatives, like the Ontario Line, are operational. That's a strategy that has been deeply unpopular in Ontario despite helping ease traffic in other major cities.
CBC
29-01-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Would you pay for less traffic? Some experts say you already are
In the third and final part of CBC Toronto's series Gridlocked: The Way Out, CBC's Angelina King explores the controversial congestion charge and why some experts say it's necessary.
CBC
29-01-2025
- Business
- CBC
Congestion already costs Toronto drivers time and money. Here's how tolls could help
There are no plans for congestion pricing or tolls in Toronto. The current Ontario government has made it clear it won't allow a tax or new toll on any road in the province — and the city isn't exploring the strategy, either. But if Toronto is serious about solving the congestion crisis — which costs the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) more than $44 billion a year in economic and social value — some experts say time-dependent road charges are an inevitable piece of the puzzle. "Demand keeps increasing, but space for building infrastructure does not," said Baher Abdulhai, an engineering professor at the University of Toronto who specializes in intelligent transportation systems. "Congestion pricing is a way to ration demand." The final part of CBC Toronto's three-part series Gridlocked: The Way Out explores why congestion pricing and tolls are so deeply unpopular in Ontario, despite helping ease traffic in other major cities. And drivers may already be paying for congestion one way or another. "They're paying for it in their time," said Matti Siemiatycki, director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto. "They're paying for it in frustration, and they're paying for it because all of the goods and services that we all consume cost more here because of how long it's taking to get around and for those goods to be delivered." Siemiatycki believes part of the reason Ontario drivers are against congestion pricing is this mindset: I already pay for infrastructure — like roads — through my taxes, so don't charge me again. WATCH | Why some experts say congesting pricing is inevitable: Because of that — and because people view charges as punishments — it makes it difficult for people to overcome these hurdles, according to psychologist Taryn Grieder. "If it's presented like it'll benefit them in some way, then it may be viewed as less of a punishment, but that would be hard to do," she said. So how has congestion pricing worked out elsewhere? London mayor re-elected after congestion pricing Mark Watts was senior transport adviser to then-London mayor Ken Livingstone when he introduced a congestion charge in the city's centre in 2003. Livingstone was re-elected in 2004. "The week before the congestion price came in, more people were opposed to it than supported it," said Watts. "Two weeks after it had been introduced, massively flipped — two-thirds of people thought it was a good idea." The reason? Watts says it worked. It reduced congestion by 30 per cent in the core, he said, and within a few years led to a nearly 40 per cent increase in bus passengers because of investments the city had made in the bus system ahead of time. "Critically, we'd spent three years investing in the alternatives," said Watts, who is now executive director of C-40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a global network of mayors working to cut emissions. "What the congestion charge itself did was make those bus services work, because before ... it was a poor choice to use a bus. You only used it if you had to because it was so unreliable." Need for attractive public transit The availability of reliable public transit is one big difference between Toronto and cities like London, Stockholm and Singapore, which have seen success with congestion pricing they've had in place for years. "It's very hard to charge people to drive their cars if they don't have an option," said Giles Gherson, president of the Toronto Region Board of Trade. "You probably won't be able to do it until at least the Ontario Line is built." Until then, there are other short-term solutions to help alleviate congestion, he says. CBC Toronto explored those in the second part of this series. Earlier this month, New York became the first North American city to implement congestion pricing for vehicles entering Manhattan's central business district. It costs most drivers $9 US to enter the area during peak hours — fees that will be put toward upgrading public transit. Travel times were down 7.5 per cent compared to the same time last year, according to preliminary data on the first week of the program from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Province would have to sign off on congestion pricing Toronto city council tried to toll the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway in late 2016. But Kathleen Wynne, then-Ontario's premier, refused to approve the plan, citing a lack of transit alternatives. More recently, city council considered the possibility of a congestion charge in 2023. But it decided not to pursue it, partially because it would require provincial approval. Asked whether Toronto might revisit the idea once better transit and construction management is in place, its traffic management director said that as an engineer he never rules out anything. "If and when that time comes, we'll definitely take a look at it again to see if it makes sense," said Roger Browne. In a statement, the office of Ontario's transportation minister made it clear that this provincial government would never approve congestion pricing. "We remain focused on building the critical infrastructure we need, including nearly $100 billion for new roads and transit to get people where they need to go each and every day," said spokesperson Dakota Brasier. Despite having no plans for congestion pricing anytime soon, Watts said Toronto shouldn't be afraid of the idea.
CBC
28-01-2025
- General
- CBC
Toronto has a congestion crisis. Here's 5 things that could fix it
Part 2 of CBC Toronto's three-part series, Gridlocked: The Way Out, explains why congestion is so bad in Toronto and how experts say implementing a combination of several solutions in tandem could make things better.
CBC
28-01-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Why experts say work on these 5 fronts is needed to tackle Toronto's congestion crisis
Unfortunately, there's no single fix for Toronto's congestion problem. "You have to do everything," said Baher Abdulhai, an engineering professor at the University of Toronto who specializes in intelligent transportation systems. "There is no silver-bullet solution." Instead, Abdulhai explained, we'll need significant investment in and changes on five key fronts. A variety of other experts CBC Toronto spoke to for this series, Gridlocked: The Way Out, said the same. Some of the work is already underway, while other solutions remain controversial. But at the heart of the issue, Abdulhai says, is supply and demand: There are too many cars for the existing roads. WATCH | Why congestion is so bad, and the solutions needed to make it better: Toronto has a congestion crisis. Here's 5 things that could fix it 4 minutes ago Duration 7:45 1. Build more and better transit Toronto has about 5,600 kilometres of road, and the city says it doesn't plan to build any more. Those roads reached their maximum potential in the 1970s. And since 2000, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) has added 1.2 million more cars to the system, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade. So experts say there's a need for attractive alternatives — namely public transit. "Building out the system is the critical piece," said Giles Gerson, TRBOT president. "We've known we had to build transit for decades — but couldn't quite get around to doing it." Several projects are in development. Construction began on the Ontario Line, a 15-stop, 15.6-kilometre subway, in December 2021. The line will run through Toronto's downtown core connecting the Eglinton Crosstown LRT in the northeast with Exhibition Place in the southwest. It's supposed to be complete in 2031. Other projects include the Yonge North Subway Extension, which will add five stations to the TTC's Line 1 service north nearly eight kilometres to Richmond Hill, and electrifying GO Transit trains for faster service. Abdulhai says we can't afford to stop there. "We need a lot more, especially at the regional level," he said. "Expand GO Transit, and have a transit solution to the 401." But building transit requires construction, which also impacts congestion. 2. Minimize impact of construction Between transit, infrastructure upgrades and building housing, there is plenty of construction in Toronto. "This past summer, we saw as much as 18 per cent of all road capacity taken away due to construction," said Roger Browne, Toronto's director of traffic management. Overwhelmingly, experts told CBC Toronto the city needs to improve its oversight and management of construction projects. "Space them apart, don't close all the roads at the same time," said Abdulhai. "[Otherwise] you're not looking for a traffic engineering solution, you're looking for a magician to be able to move infrastructure that's clogged everywhere." The city is working on it. Council passed a congestion management plan last fall that includes a levy for builders who block lanes of traffic for construction. The fee would increase based on the size and duration of the closure. "They're incentivized to minimize their construction work zone." There will also be a new online booking system for builders to see what road closures have already been approved before they apply to close a road for construction. "That gives us an opportunity to make sure that we're not closing too many roads all at the same time," said Browne. "And [builders] see themselves [for] first-hand." 3. Embrace tech on existing roads While construction continues on new transit and other projects, technology can help keep existing roadways moving. "If you put too much demand in the infrastructure," Abdulhai said, "then it comes to a halt … and that causes significant further delays. "We want to use technology to kind of smoothen the operation of how the demand fits in the infrastructure." For him, that means using AI to create smart highways and traffic lights. He demonstrated the difference for CBC Toronto using funnels representing two highways and rice kernels representing cars. WATCH | The difference between a smart highway and existing highways: How using AI on highway ramps could keep traffic moving 4 minutes ago Duration 0:57 For the uncontrolled highway, he poured all of the rice into the funnel at once, creating a bottleneck that took time to drain — representing congestion. "In the smart freeway, possibly controlled by artificial intelligence, what we do is control the pace of how [the rice] traffic is poured into the system so everybody goes through without stopping and without delay," said Abdulhai. Practically, that pacing could be accomplished by adding traffic lights to highway on-ramps, also called a "ramp meter," that would control traffic merging onto the highway in a way that doesn't slow it down. Browne said the city doesn't currently have plans to implement highway metering within Toronto, because there isn't much space for queuing vehicles off highways. It also might not be within Toronto's control, he said, given the city uploaded oversight of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway to the province in 2023. When it comes to traffic signals, hundreds of the city's nearly 2,500 traffic lights already use artificial intelligence. But Browne says his team is exploring more AI use for signals to alleviate pressure on staff, who otherwise have to remotely adjust them when there's an issue. CBC Toronto also explored how automated enforcement technology for traffic violations can change driver behaviour and alleviate gridlock in the first part of this series. 4. Incentivize changing behaviour The public and private sectors should offer incentives for changed behaviour, experts say — like an insurance break, or a free TTC pass. "People aren't going to be motivated to change if they don't have a reason," said Taryn Grieder, assistant psychology professor at the University of Toronto. Gerson of the TRBOT is amazed by the number of businesses he knows are already doing this. He also says many companies are running private shuttles between their workplaces and transit hubs. "This building here has a private sector shuttle service to get to Union Station because we don't have much along Queens Quay and it's going to inhibit the ability to grow this area," he said about the office tower where the board of trade is located. Gerson also believes there should be incentives for businesses that do deliveries overnight to avoid clogging up roads during the day. "Businesses' role is going to be to support hopefully the action plan, because governments aren't going to make big moves if they don't feel there's a lot of support behind them." 5. Consider congestion pricing A lack of public and political support hangs around the final piece of the puzzle for many experts: congestion pricing. Several major cities including London, Stockholm and most recently New York City have some charge levied on drivers in their most congested areas. The fees are intended to convince some to pursue alternative transit options or to drive in off-peak hours with time-of-day pricing. Previous efforts to implement this in Toronto have failed. But Abdulhai and others say there's no way around it in reducing the gap between road capacity and demand. "It's inevitable."
