Plan to battle Toronto congestion picks up speed at council
CBC
Toronto councillors hit the gas this week on a new congestion management plan to address the "unprecedented" number of road closures on city streets.
Council adopted the new plan, recommended by city staff, which will introduce more traffic wardens to jammed intersections, provide better coordination of major events, and use new technology to combat gridlock.
Staff say Toronto is facing an "unprecedented amount of construction road closures" with billions of dollars in transit and infrastructure upgrades underway across the city.
Councillor Chris Moise, who represents downtown's Toronto Centre riding, put the frustration people are feeling bluntly.
"I gotta say, it's a cluster … mess," Moise said.
He paused as he chose his words carefully on the council floor.
"Let's call it that."
The plan updates a previous strategy first created by the city in 2013. It will see Toronto adopt a number of new tools to address congestion. The city will work with the Toronto Police Service on an interim basis to have between 10 to 13 special constables actively manage key intersections during high-volume periods.
By March, the city hopes to have 45 traffic agents in the field, but staff told council 50 would be the ideal complement.
"The timeline that it takes to actually get our special constables able to be deployed in the training is actually quite significant," said Barbara Gray, the city's general manager of transportation.
"We have job calls out all the time to fill those positions."
Staff will also roll out a new program that would require construction sites to have clearly-posted QR codes that can be scanned with a smartphone to get real-time information on projects. That information would include the company doing the work, the nature and duration of road closures, and a 24/7 emergency contact number.
Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie said the QR codes should help address the frustration of local residents and drivers seeking clear project updates.
There is billions of dollars in infrastructure and transit construction going on in the city right now and that will be positive in the years to come, she said, but there's no denying the inconvenience it creates now.