City has plans to get traffic moving

Deploying agents to congested areas part of anti-gridlock efforts

With Toronto gridlock crawling and honking back to pre-pandemic levels, the city says it is taking steps to keep vehicles safely moving.

Mayor John Tory told reporters Tuesday that, with children about to return to school and some workers heading back into pandemic-emptied workplaces, commuting times are already increasing, especially in the afternoon rush hour.

Traffic volumes that dipped to 45 per cent of normal during COVID-19-related lockdowns are back up to 75 per cent and expected to keep rising, Tory said. At the same time, police are reporting a big jump in motorists illegally stopping or parking in bike lanes built to keep cyclists safely out of motor-vehicle traffic.

A city staff plan to address the problem includes:

> Deploying “traffic agents” — civilians recently hired to direct motorists and help keep traffic flowing through busy intersections — to the “hottest congestion hot spots to provide realtime problem solving.” Sites include Lake Shore Boulevard, University Avenue, Front Street, Bay Street and Gardiner Expressway on-ramps.

> Reducing the number of exemptions from rush-hour parking rules granted to construction companies. The city had increased such exemptions when traffic levels were low during the pandemic.

> Using traffic cameras to monitor congestion hot spots in real time, while increasing the number of city staff monitoring and overriding traffic signals to reduce congestion.

> Pausing for the first half of September traffic-disrupting, “non-essential” roadside work by utility companies.

Downtown congestion has in recent days been increased by the closing of the east end of the Gardiner Expressway and demolition of ramps down to Logan Avenue. The highway’s connection to the Don Valley Parkway is being reconfigured.

And amid relaxed parking enforcement during the pandemic, more motorists have been invading the bike lanes, which are a key part of the city’s Vision Zero plan to eliminate cyclist and pedestrian deaths on Toronto roads.

The Star has witnessed rampant infractions, including large construction vehicles working on the city’s Regent Park redevelopment parking in Dundas Street bike lanes.

The city says it is “working closely with Toronto Police Parking Enforcement to actively patrol for no-stopping and no-parking violations citywide to reduce congestion.

The city has a map at toronto.ca/roadrestrictions to help residents plan routes and avoid road restrictions and closings.