Downtown Toronto could see up to 15% more cars during FIFA World Cup, city says

The City of Toronto has released the first details of its plans to deal with traffic during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which it predicts could add 10 to 15 per cent more vehicles to major downtown roads. 

Each host city has to submit a mobility plan to FIFA for review by the end of March, meaning Toronto’s full plan is still in the works. But documents that will go before the executive committee Tuesday shed some light on how a city notorious for its traffic plans to deal with it during one of the largest sporting events in the world. 

The city is looking at banning on-street parking on major corridors, a moratorium on construction projects impacting key routes and the temporary closing of on and off-ramps to the Gardiner Expressway, according to a letter from Paul Johnson, the city manager, on the committee’s agenda.

The expected increase in traffic comes from modelling done by the transportation department, Johnson said, though his letter doesn’t specify which streets might see the brunt of that influx.

The city is already at a point where any addition to traffic will have an impact, according to Eric Miller, a professor specializing in transportation engineering at the University of Toronto. 

“You add one per cent of traffic, you get more than one per cent congestion, given where we are in terms of congestion. If it was empty, 10 to 15 per cent wouldn’t matter,” said Miller. 

“But you reach a threshold where it starts to become painful. And after that, more and more pain.” 

The city will host six matches during the World Cup, five in June and one in early July, at Toronto Stadium, the temporary name for BMO Field during the tournament. The stadium will welcome 45,000 people, while the fan festival at Fort York National Historic Site and the Bentway will be able to hold 20,000 people. 

Miller said he has faith that the city’s transportation staff know what they’re doing. He says scaling back construction projects, adjusting traffic lights based on demand and prohibiting street parking are all good things. 

The street parking ban would happen on match days and would include an enforcement plan, “to monitor and clear any vehicles that stop or park illegally,” according to the document before the executive committee. The city would also limit parking around Toronto Stadium and in its nearby neighbourhoods, to try and minimize impact on local residents.. 

“The trouble is, that will only find you so much,” Miller said of all the initiatives. He says a robust public transit plan also needs to be part of the equation. 

At a TTC board meeting in early February, the transit agency outlined its plans for increased service during the tournament, specifically on the 29 Dufferin bus and 504 King, 511 Bathurst and 509 Harbourfront streetcar routes. 

“I really think that the big story is it's an opportunity,” Matthias Sweet, co-director of the TransForm research lab at Toronto Metropolitan University, said of transportation management during the World Cup. 

The City of Toronto has already accelerated the installation of transit priority lanes on Dufferin and Bathurst streets for the tournament. Sweet said the mobility challenge presented to the city presents opportunities for it and its residents to try new things.