Toronto officials unveil latest plans to ease traffic congestion

City officials have revealed their latest plans to tackle traffic congestion in Toronto — with the help of some proposed fines and fees.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow told reporters at a briefing Friday that the city wants to address bad behaviour on city streets. As a growing city, Chow said Toronto has about 250 cranes in the sky, but that means a lot of construction, cars and traffic.

The mayor said the city will take steps to speed up construction on major streets, better coordinate road closures, shorten closures and improve enforcement against drivers who violate the rules. The city also wants to impose a new congestion management levy on builders who occupy lanes to encourage them to speed up construction, she said.

Her message to developers who might complain if they face a new fee: "Do it faster."

Chow said congestion is made worse by drivers who park in bike lanes illegally, and those who stop in live lanes with their hazard lights on, snarling traffic behind them.  

"Maybe they just got a Timmies, I don't know. Or they just delivered something. It's illegal, it's just maddening," she said.

Chow also said she wants the city to use its arsenal of traffic cameras and TTC vehicle cameras to ticket rule breakers.

"We are public servants. We do not violate people's privacy. But if you break the law, we need to catch you," she said.

The city has already increased fines for drivers who stop in intersections when lights change. "Blocking the box" is now a $450-fine, an increase from $90. The fine for an improper stop at an intersection has also been raised for community safety zones, from $120 to $500.

Roger Browne, director of traffic management for the city, said the city's congestion management plan aims to ease the flow of traffic around Toronto, improve the reliability of transit, make travel more efficient and improve road safety.

City staff have updated the congestion plan and will update the council's infrastructure and environment committee on Sept. 27. The plan will then go to city council in October.

"When it comes to congestion management, I mean, this is not about making cars disappear," Browne told reporters. "This is about better, more effectively managing congestion."

Browne said the city is also looking at setting up automated enforcement to monitor traffic violations, developing a new road restrictions map and creating a new traffic congestion dashboard.

Barbara Gray, general manager of the city's transportation services, said construction projects need to get done.