Just how bad is construction traffic in Toronto?

No one is surprised it will take longer to get around in Toronto this summer. But construction delays might be even worse than anticipated. This year, part of a major street is closed to build the new Ontario Line. CBC’s Angelina King and Nicole Brockbank went for a drive to see how bad it is out there and found out what’s being done to make it more bearable for drivers.
Read more: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...
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[@TimeLemon]

If traffic is this terrible, maybe we need to invest in transit methods that actually make sense, like rail, bikes, and buses. Cars take up way too much space to be the primary method of travel

[@bunnylover1340]

The gov't should learn about designing public transportation from countries like Spain, Japan, China and many others. Our transportation system is laughable and an embarrassment. According to every mayoral candidate, the only thing they are preaching is affordable housing. If they continue to pack Toronto with people how would they solve traffic issues. I think they should expand housing outside of the GTA.

[@pacman3556]

I agree that transit isn't great but 1- we are investing in rail. Part of this construction mess is because we are building the new Ontario subway rail line. We are also adding in the new Eglinton LRT (if it will ever get finished), Finch LRT and subway extension into Scarborough. There are also plans to extend the Eglinton LRT further east into Scarborough and west to the airport 2- bikes are not a full solution to the problem. Lots of people come into the city from the suburbs and surrounding cities. Not everyone can bike to work or the downtown core. And even those that live in the downtown core can't use a bike for everything. It is hard to do grocery shopping etc on a bike. Hard to ride a bike in winter, snowstorms or thunderstorms etc 3- buses are part of traffic. They block traffic just as much as cars. As much as you want people to ride the bus they won't. Buses are long wait times, long travel times and take up space in traffic.

[@SpencerLupul]

@@pacman3556 you made a mistake about buses: imagine if everyone on the bus got out and hopped in their car… it would be a traffic catastrophe if you understand this, then you understand how public transportation actually saves space by an order of magnitude compared to cars

[@pacman3556]

@@SpencerLupul didn't make a mistake at all. Buses are still part of traffic and they block traffic just as much as cars. In fact you could argue the block traffic even more by stopping every half kilometer and they usually drive much slower then the cars around them. Buses don't magically fly over traffic (you could argue they have their own lanes in some areas but that is just blocking traffic further by pushing the same amount of traffic into less lanes). If you understood this you wouldn't comment.

[@SpencerLupul]

@@pacman3556 it’s just not true, sadly. Because increasing bus frequency can actually bring people out of their cars, and this reduces traffic because there would be less cars on the road. And because single-person car traffic is non-linear, it has a measurable affect. So anyone who likes to drive should actually be pro-public transit expansion because it will make driving more pleasant. And it’s great for people who aren’t good at driving or who would rather take transit since they aren’t forced to own a car. It’s really a win win

[@F_e_l]

How many times you past through a road closure on construction, but there's no one working? They allow a single company to bid on multiple projects, but not have the capacity/equipment to execute all of them at the same time.

[@gotaybah]

These guys who are trying to mitigate and brainstorm and troubleshoot are still doing an awful job sorry to tell you. The city's traffic and construction are a complete joke.

[@TheTroyc1982]

the only solution to traffic is improving transit and banning cars from downtown. If you repeatedly get stuck in traffic for an hour why are you driving instead of taking transit then???

[@lordflick895]

Yeah but transit is so underfunded, crowded and all around terrible that outlawing cars from the downtown region would create it's own. Worse set of problems. Housing is so expensive that half of them are coming from places outside of Toronto's transit system. Top that off with an hour from Union station to anywhere else in Downtown Toronto... The city needs a commute tax for office buildings or even a straight up office building tax. That would come with its own set of problems but better results in my opinion.

[@Liafram]

Too many cars, and zero traffic enforcement. It's a nightmare.

[@movieguy1985]

RESIDENTS: The construction is so bad! SAME RESIDENTS: The roads are in such bad shape! Cue the horrible music...

[@WYLNXCA]

lol ikr, either bad road, or bad construction. we cant have both unless they speed up their construction

[@DarkPhoenixSaga]

That was a long time for a little more than 2 miles ( yeah, I'm American). I think I rather walk and get there faster.

[@frndlystrangr]

This is news? You don't have to get into a car to know how bad it is. Just walk and observe!

[@Royan1900]

No, was trying to display driving time. Also this wasn't technically news, it was an opinion piece, so calm down lol

[@SpencerLupul]

a very good demonstration of why cars are the inferior mode of transportation

[@Matanumi]

I mean they are great for long distance which is what north America is. But for these cities? More options are needed for less space

[@pacman3556]

what else are you proposing? Kind of hard to ride your bike from the suburbs and surrounding areas. TTC and other public transit is is overcrowded and slow. Takes hours to get from the suburbs and surrounding areas to downtown.

[@officiallynrgxlr8tr]

@@pacman3556 overcrowded and slow. reminds me of the dvp, gardiner, yonge, mt pleasant, avenue, spadina, etc

[@SpencerLupul]

@@pacman3556 but the TTC is scalable. Roads are not. The problem is not the system it’s the amount being invested in it because of public support for the status quo (car infrastructure) Also removing infrastructure like parking and roads can make more room for housing so people can actually live close to where they go .

[@pacman3556]

@@SpencerLupul the TTC is as scalable as roads. There is only so much land. Can only expand TTC based on land available same as we can only expand roads to the amount of land available. You also miss the point. You can expand TTC to certain extents but it is still difficult to grocery shop, travel long distances, take large items etc on the bus. You can wish all you want but the fact remains that cars will not go away. People will always need them.

[@Royan1900]

I was living in downtown Toronto during the pandemic lockdowns....and it was quite an experience being able to drive dt without frustration lol

[@Michael99840]

but congrats now you got frustrated all the times.

[@lordflick895]

Maybe now that working remotely is possible, there should be more pressure on companies to allow people to work remotely.

[@shanerob681]

That would make too much sense. 😉

[@lordflick895]

@@shanerob681 I know right! The problem is that solution is directly in the way of our current way of running a society. The jobs that then create other jobs. A system of jobs and consumption regardless of them being needed. It's kind of disturbing when you really think of it.

[@clairemercer3099]

I waited over an hour for a bus in a bad area of town. Forget about public safety.

[@lordflick895]

11:42 Im all for an empty downtown. Lower crowding, lower emissions and people having more time to themselves after work all sound pretty great. Maybe even turn some of those offices into housing.

[@panigALI1199s]

40% slower than walking. TO is near broken and run by an incompetent petty short sighted council for decades. A late bloomer city that had all the time and plenty of examples from NYC to LA to avoid the failures of a city based on the automobile and yet still F'ed it up worse than cities in its size and class like San Fran, Miami, Philadelphia, Washington, Houston, Dallas, and Boston. There is no excuse for this level of failure given every advantage TO has had.

[@andymod]

I strongly disagree. City located in the middle of enormous suburban sprawl. No matter what you do, there will be enough lazy car folks who will come there and congest everything. We should just ignore those and focus on public transit and walkability.

[@wainber1]

I think of a claim made by Angelina King, at the 3:35 mark, about intersection-blocking traffic. Perhaps there should be more police enforcement at known troublespots in downtown.

[@darkglass3011]

Suggestion: station bike stations near parking garages and provide Drivers with access to a free ride. Maybe the Toronto Parking authority can leverage the bike share program it manages to encourage parking at their garages since drivers have to pay for parking anyway. Drivers don't have to park near their work. They can park at a spacious parking garage and then bike the rest of the way to another bike station located near their work. The Toronto Parking authority can make back their losses by encouraging more parking at their garages while also lowering traffic congestion because there's less vehicles on the road. Then more people can reach their destination more quickly.

[@JeremyMacDonald1973]

Good Idea!

[@bellisimamadrigale]

The drone study looked very interesting. We really need better data to solve this problem, but to me the bad traffic management is a city-wide problem. My family only uses the car when necessary, but it is more necessary than would be desirable because of inadequate bus routes. I'm afraid not everyone can cycle to work. It would help congestion if these new advanced pedestrian lights were not a thing. They do not create greater safety when cars can turn right on a red light anyway.

[@D.E.E.P.Y.]

Results of amazing urban planning and a great sprawl it caused.

[@wtfmate501]

The entire Traffic Management Team need to be fired immediately. Overpaid, under performing, with a severe lack of critical thinking skills.

[@miles5600]

tell us that's the real solution here?

[@wtfmate501]

@@miles5600 Performance management audit of all city departments, terminate staff with poor performance, hire external professionals with designations in that area of expertise. Then perfom annual audits of departmental goals with year end achievements ensuring projects align with the city budget.

[@miles5600]

@@wtfmate501 but what’s actually wrong here? Lights can’t magically speed up nor do many projects stay in budget and that’s the case for all major projects around the globe. If people don’t wanna be part of the congestion they should walk or bike and not just because there’s construction now but also because those modes are sustainable for our wallets and the earth.

[@wtfmate501]

@@miles5600 what's wrong is they're implementing projects that are disrupting detour routes and allowing these contracts to go over time and budget.

[@miles5600]

@@wtfmate501 does it seem like it could be fixed? can your waterline replacement wait while it's been waiting for way too long? the lightrail has been planned for years now and is now being build and why would a giant lightrail project not disrupt traffic? contractors will always go over time and will always go over budget since there are always unexpected setbacks and this is the case in every country around the world. but why not love the project? cause you know it'll bring better transit and improve the area when done.

[@makingish]

I get that we need to update the infrastructure, but do we need to do it all at the same time? They say the Adelaide was delayed? Then delay the Queen, and have extreme fines for delays. People keep taking about housing, and housing is important but, we also need to figure out how to move, clothes, feed all the people that move to the neighborhood or we will end up with more un walkable neighborhoods that will bring in more cars

[@andymod]

Nearly everything except high weight deliveries and some specific cases with work equipment (plumbers, e.g.) can be moved without cars. Still, 90% of cars there are just those who are too lazy to unpack their legs to walk or fearful of public transit.

[@kbar11]

At least they show us who's making traffic horrible in the city. Glad I moved away, the city will never be worth my time or money

[@officiallynrgxlr8tr]

if only there was some sort of system, out of traffic, that could take you from downtown to other parts of the city. oh wait.

[@milhouse7145]

Toronto?? Try Montreal the only difference is nothing new for Montreal. And who are those people with helmets and orange vests? We don't have those in Montreal, just cones.

[@friendlygiant2502]

I love driving and my car. The solution is not always to look at alternative transport means but to pragmatically solve for the root of the problem. Here are some ways to improve traffic situation, based on personal experience. 1. Dont allow delivery trucks to stop/park on streets to make delivery during rush hour. They take up an entire lane and traffic needs to move to different lane, which slows things down. Do deliveries earlier or after rush hour. 2. Traffic lights at intesections need to be coordinated. It clogs up traffic when one interesection in green and next one, just a couple of meters away turns red. This reduces the speed at which traffic clears and toronto dt is full of intersections. In NY, due to coordinated traffic lights, it is possible to clear about 5-6 blocks before hitting a red light. 3. Often times - there is a small piece of construction zone cordoned off, with most of the time no construction ongoing. But, that closes a full lane and slows traffic as they move to different lane. Either priortize and complete such construction in a couple of hours or save it for the weekends. 4. Each interesction should have a dedicated green "right of the turn" signal for turning traffic to clear quickly (or atleast during rush hour), so as to not block othet traffic looking to go straight 5. Introduce different timings for pedestrian crossings. Currently, each time the light turns green, pedestrians are also crossing. Alternate the crossing for them. First 2 times, lights are green only for traffic so that they can quickly move and clear turns. On the third time, pedestrians can cross with traffic, giving way, as it normally happens. Repeat again, esp during rush hour.

[@SpencerLupul]

no. Any measure that improves the experience of driving a car (faster, less stress) will induce more driving and therefore, more traffic. What your proposing also has the potential to increase the speed of traffic which in turn, increases the danger for pedestrians and cyclists. Cars in cities do not work. There’s simply not enough room. And to your point about delivery trucks: you think your right to drive through places is more important than the right of the people living there to receive stuff? That’s rough man

[@pacman3556]

@@SpencerLupul you will never get rid of cars so it is better to look at potential ways to make them more efficient like the OP lists then to pretend that some how magically the cars will just go away. And OP never said that people shouldn't get deliveries. He said that is shouldn't happen during rush hour traffic. Delivery trucks stop all forms of traffic not just cars so it is horribly inefficient to stop all forms of traffic at their peak times.

[@SpencerLupul]

@@pacman3556 the hot take of researchers in this area is that: rush hour traffic needs to continue to be bad, and when at the same time good alternative transportation modes are created, then people will get annoyed enough to switch. And either way, let’s acknowledge how many unnecessary trips are made with the car that jam up the road. I think we should be prioritizing the delivery driver, who’s job it is to be there, rather than allowing for complete freedom to drive whenever you want without congestion. That is just not feasible

[@pacman3556]

@@SpencerLupul your definition of "unnecessary trips" is your interpretation. People that drive those cars don't make unnecessary trips they make the trips they feel they need to take. If not then they would not take those trips. It is not up to you to decide what trips other people should and should not take. Again you can wish all you want but the fact remains that people will still need cars.

[@SpencerLupul]

@@pacman3556 why should people be able to take any possible trip at any time in a car, when I am the one who pays the consequences (cost from taxes, noise, pollution, congestion) when they drive in front of my house?

[@NinKendo416]

Toronto is broken

[@jon18m]

Easy, charge a prem. toll for people living outside of Toronto coming into Toronto. Or block off Toronto to just residents and tour buses and the rest will have to park their car outside of Toronto and take public transportation or ride a bicycle/ebike/scooters into Toronto.

[@cocacoda]

This is what we pay the big bucks to live here for... 🙄

[@miles5600]

for what? traffic that can't be magically disappeared?

[@dylanc9174]

If you live in a big city you aren't driving into town and expecting little traffic. It's ridiculous.

[@craigrobertson5030]

Take transit, ride a bike and traffic goes away

[@StP_outdoor]

just wait until they close buttonville airport and jam a bunch of condos right by the highway lol

[@test40323]

Please redo test in bicycle. ebike less sweaty and cameraman can rent an eCargo bike.

[@Up_north_with_Mike]

I’m so sorry that your CBC mask was lost during the filming of this traffic report.

[@lovelysinghmehra6169]

Looking for job in Mississauga or Oakville urgently

[@July1st1867]

Congestion Charging to Fund the TTC and bike lanes would make alot of those problems go away

[@bunnylover1340]

Odd, not a single mayoral candidate addressed this issue with a form response. Let's see what Cho will do. Watch out people your property taxes are a sure thing to increase.

[@stephanienguyen6992]

Ready BAD.....

[@vsirrmk]

Whe CBC allows comments, it means they are not lying this time. Traffic IS bad in Toronto.

[@viewfromthehighchair9391]

Good report. It so happens that I got stuck in downtown traffic last night after the Argo game because I was trying to avoid gridlock going west of the Exhibition grounds. I decided to go east along the Lakeshore and cut up Strachan but immediately got in traffic so I continued east. The make a long story short, I walked into a nightmare along the Lakeshore not being able to cut north on any street in the downtown and, obviously, having no escape south toward the lake. I ended up east of downtown and decided to get to Bayview and cut north to circle around the north side of Bloor. What I then found was that the southern part of Bayview below Gerrard (because the northbound lanes only begin at River St.) no longer exist as they have been turned entirely to bike lanes. Now, I am a big support of bike-lane infrastructure even though I don't use them; HOWEVER, replacing vital car lanes with only bike lanes is beyond the pale and counterproduct. I actually had to ask for directions in my own city because it was changed so badly with all the condo construction in the area. The signage was almost non-existant and one was just suddenly directed to go left along a side street without any indication of where that lead. I'm not saying all this is an easy task (because it most certainly isn't); however, trying to change the city to a future version before the necessary infrastructure is built will only lead to frustration and anger. Put in the new alternatives piece by piece instead of all at once. It will suck because none of us has the patience to wait; however, an hour to go 5 major city blocks (even in rush hour) is ridiculous and can't be tolerated. It's like my Mom used to say, "Toronto will be a great city if they ever get it finished." I have to admit; she was pretty smart for a Mom. LOL

[@user-ev3qv1yf2d]

If it gets more cars from the GTA off the road than great! Sick of these out of control drivers almost running pedestrians over and keeping us up with noise

[@eca3101]

Suburbanites who don’t live in the downtown core taking their personal living room on wheels into the most densely populated area in the country, and acting all entitled when they run into traffic - which is just other suburbanites. Ban cars in downtown.

[@andymod]

First of all o have zero remoerse for those 5% stubborn who decided to drive here. Like, what did you expect? Toronto Downtown is the second the most densely populated area on the continent with 16 thousands people per square kilometer. Based on data only 5% people who moves here use cars. Still, they granted 75% of surface space which is ridiculuosly unfair to others. Infrastructure has to be built and maintained. We need more public transit, better service, more space for pedestrians and better street design to prioritize those who accept the fact living on the big dense city. Car is by far the most inefficient mode of transportation and it is hostile, dangerous, produces enormous noise pollution and the best policy we can implement in the Downtown is to ban it as much as possible to give city to it's residents, not the lazy commuters. We should not give up our space for selfish drivers. There are tons of places to on car go outside Downtown and Old City, which may be not accessible by anything except car. And, still, nobody of us comes there to complain about this. So the car ownes should stop complaining about the fact they most low prioritized here and will be (I hope so much) prioritized even less. This is Downtown of the big dense city, car is not welcome there.

[@mnoi6788]

Wait until you drive on Finch avenue

[@classicdufferin8739]

Worst construction ever

[@davidg9927]

The amount of carbon per city is? 😊

[@CarFreeSegnitz]

If you’re driving and complaining about traffic, remember you’re part of the problem.

[@jeanbolduc5818]

Everything is bad in Toronto .

[@malibustacy3606]

I'm sensing great vulnerabilities, terribly frustrated motorists crying out for love, innocent orphins in the post modern world.

[@richboy3860]

Municipal Govt: Sir, there is extreme traffic problem Federal Govt: Really? Okay, let’s fix it by bringing in 1 million people every year

[@RedTeamBlueTeam]

Environment Minister: more bike lanes will solve the problem and save the planet.

[@Royan1900]

You think the million came to Downtown Toronto? Ignorance is the bane of humanity. News flash: Canada is more than just Downtown Toronto.

[@dylanc9174]

​@@RedTeamBlueTeam It will save you from the traffic.

[@richboy3860]

@@Royan1900 Read my comment again and look for ‘traffic problem ONLY in downtown Toronto’. If you don’t find it, go get your vision fixed

[@mu6768]

​@@Royan1900Most of them are coming here wtf are you on about

[@86MarcusP]

Too Country minded for such stress...aye 🍺😁

[@Kazilla.]

Toronto wasn't made for cars.

[@johngore7744]

Try Montreal city of oranges cones. Whatever you can do we can do worse.

[@1986Unlimited]

The GTA is f*cked and it got there all on its own.

[@Up_north_with_Mike]

It’s one thing to talk about the core’s traffic issues but you failed miserably on the traffic that leads into the core. Our highways are disgusting.

[@leadnsteel1428]

Even walking downtown is terrible lol.

[@ryeguy7941]

Going to get worse as more people are brought into the country.

[@tyren818]

mb if you guys payed for the infrastructure and services you use, your country wouldn't have rely on a growth ponzi scheme to bring so many immigrants each year. But of course, you want your 4 lane streets, free parking, free highways, subsidized driving and single family homes. You can't build a sprawling society without having sprawling taxes. It will always be financially invsolvent.

[@titusmccarthy]

Blame TRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDEAU! Right?

[@liamnoah6648]

Angelina King is very pretty...quite distracting 😅

[@StefanTufoi590]

Just keep lettin em in Trudeau u 🤡

[@BrianBaileyedtech]

Bike lanes are useless at reducing congestion - they actually increase it. A niche product. Transit (not buses, they also increase congestion) needs to be dramatically improved - subways, subways, subways. Streetcars are as useless as buses as they get stuck at at-grade intersections - slow as molasses. Finally, tear down the Gardiner and replace it with a massive tunnel like Boston or Sydney or Madrid. Spend big or get used to insane congestion - there is no alternative that actually works.

[@SpencerLupul]

Where I live in southeast Berlin they recently painted a lane so that cars couldn’t drive on the tram tracks at this one spot where traffic was terrible. It has made a huge difference, now the trams run on time. Also not sure where you get the bike lanes increasing congestion thing, all the literature I read says the opposite

[@nolanxuereb2914]

Brian, any sources for this gibberish?

[@BrianBaileyedtech]

@@nolanxuereb2914 Sure, observation as a driver. You?

[@SpencerLupul]

@@BrianBaileyedtech your assertion that there’s no alternative that fixes congestion is wrong: at least if you want to drive a car. The problem is that car traffic is very un-linear. Each additional car adds a lot more congestion time than the last. This is sadly an un-fixable problem, not even by large roads. The only solution is by providing alternatives to driving: public transportation and bike lanes are good for this. In fact, you should want this because it will remove more people with cars from the road and make your commute even faster. Bikes don’t have the same space problem, and public transit is some of the most efficient ways to move people that exists. So Let’s get on it

[@BrianBaileyedtech]

@@SpencerLupul You misread (on purpose?) what I actually wrote. I did say there are alternatives that will fix congestion - then I listed them. You should be more aware of your inherent biases - it's actually preventing you from understanding solutions.

[@RedTeamBlueTeam]

More bike lanes are needed to slow traffic even more. It’s important to take lanes away from cars for the environment, that way it can take cars longer and they can idle a lot more.

[@SnowWhite-hr4ho]

No bike lanes i am a pedestrian and the bikes run people over with no recourse!!!! They should be forced to trained on safety, get a license and insurance. It's not safe even on the sidewalk. Amsterdam does this much better

[@mu6768]

Hate cyclists the worst of mankind lol

[@RedTeamBlueTeam]

@@rickdu705 that’s not borne out by the actual observed data.

[@MrAronymous]

@@SnowWhite-hr4ho Cars run people over too. In Toronto. With no recourse. But it's so normalised that it barely even gets news coverage or outrage. And to completely top off not knowing what you;re talking about, being a pedestrian in Amsterdam is not a great experience. It needs serious work. And I say that as an Amsterdammer lol. But all underbelly arguments aside, it's insane that people in this video think it's normal to take your personal vehicle into the downtown of the busiest city in the country and not experience traffic lmao. You're not in traffic you ARE traffic. The self-entitlement is real.

[@SnowWhite-hr4ho]

What we don't need is more congestion by Olivia's new bike lanes?

[@user-ev3qv1yf2d]

This is the dumbest thing I've ever read. Bike lanes and transit reduce congestion. Try going to Denmark and see for yourself.

[@SnowWhite-hr4ho]

​@@rickdu705yes I do

[@MrAronymous]

@@SnowWhite-hr4ho Traffic is not caused by amount of lanes but by the choke points that impede flow. In this case traffic lights, merging, turning cars. Cars are so space-inefficient and need so much room to "flow" properly it's not even funny. Rather than making your downtown streets into highways a better way to solve traffic is to organise traffic in a way that only people who really have no other option to drive will choose to do so. And in order to get there driving needs to be restricted to free up space for other modes that are ridiculously more efficient with the space they use.

[@ghostpuppet31]

No reason why Canadian cities can't build underpasses, which take traffic under roadways, so there's no cross over. Would eliminate most congestion.

[@nolanxuereb2914]

no thanks we will not be turning out downtown into a highway interchange

[@pacman3556]

Add thousands of condos with no new streets, public transit or other infrastructure then those same tenants that are in those new condos creating all this traffic are shocked.

[@Diggyoz]

Take out “construction traffic in” for a far more accurate title

[@constantindima523]

It feels it is done in spite of torontonians and totally plan less 👎👎👎