{"id":70231,"date":"2025-05-05T08:15:42","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T12:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?p=70231"},"modified":"2025-05-01T15:39:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T19:39:12","slug":"op-ed-congestion-confusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2025\/05\/05\/op-ed-congestion-confusion\/","title":{"rendered":"OP-ED: Congestion Confusion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyday traffic in Toronto feels like a punchline no one\u2019s laughing at. From headlines about mounting congestion to Premier Ford\u2019s promise to “remove bike lanes to free up traffic,” the popular narrative is clear: there\u2019s too much gridlock, and not enough road. But what if we told you the story is more complicated \u2013 while some of the loudest solutions on offer might actually worsen the problem?<\/p>\n

With data in hand from the 2022 Transportation Tomorrow Survey (TTS)<\/a>, paired with mapping by School of Cities<\/a>\u2019 Jeff Allen and Muhammad Khalis Bin Samion, we have a clearer picture of how people in the Greater Golden Horseshoe are actually moving \u2013 and where the bottlenecks really lie.<\/p>\n

The Construction Culprit<\/h2>\n

The City of Toronto\u2019s recent staff report states plainly: Toronto is North America\u2019s busiest construction city. In summer 2024 alone, 24 of roads were closed at peak construction<\/a>, doubling travel times. This isn\u2019t hypothetical \u2013 Queen Street, one of downtown\u2019s main arteries between Bay Street to Victoria Street, is closed until 2027 for Ontario Line construction<\/a>. And it\u2019s not just isolated projects: according to the 2025 Congestion Management Plan, the city is simultaneously managing major infrastructure renewals, private development growth, and critical utility work across 5,600km of road that hasn\u2019t expanded in decades.<\/p>\n

In response, the city has adopted a more coordinated approach<\/a> (PDF): leveraging real-time traffic tech, enhancing traffic enforcement, increasing towing of illegally parked vehicles on transit routes, and expanding transit signal priority systems. These are solid steps \u2013 but as the report itself admits, \u201cthese measures will not eliminate congestion,\u201d only mitigate it.<\/p>\n

Even City Council now directs that staff evaluate how well these mitigation efforts are working and whether new tools<\/a> (PDF) \u2013 like a Construction Congestion Management Levy or an escalating Road Disruption Activity Reporting System \u2013 might be required to push back against the current pace and sprawl of disruptions.<\/p>\n

Building on these efforts, City Council approved the creation of a new “traffic czar”<\/a><\/u> during the April 2025 meeting\u00a0to lead a cross-divisional congestion strategy. While the role lacks enforcement powers, it’s designed to\u00a0take a more holistic and proactive approach to tackling traffic pressure<\/a><\/u> \u2014 particularly the kind triggered by construction delays and overlapping projects. Yet even with this added oversight, staff continue to caution that such measures can only help manage congestion more effectively, not solve it outright.<\/p>\n

Congestion is a Choice<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s where perception diverges from reality: the congestion problem isn’t just caused by construction. According to the same city report, vehicle registrations are up 26% since 2014 \u2013 but Toronto\u2019s road network has barely changed. In short, we\u2019re squeezing more cars onto the same streets.<\/p>\n

As Prof. Steven Farber, interim director of U of T\u2019s Mobility Network, told CBC<\/a>: \u201cDrivers aren’t just stuck in congestion, they are the congestion.\u201d Real relief doesn\u2019t come from chasing wider roads or faster lanes. It comes from fewer cars, and more attractive options for getting around without one.<\/p>\n

What the Data Shows<\/h2>\n

When we layer TTS travel data with Can-BICS cycling infrastructure and Metrolinx transit routes<\/a>, a more nuanced map of movement in the GGH emerges:<\/p>\n