Toronto traffic has reached crisis level, poll data reveal
Toronto traffic has reached the point of a congestion crisis, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade, whose new numbers warn of a significant impact on the city’s economy.
Data collected for the board by polling firm Ipsos indicate that growing gridlock is prompting a segment of the workforce to consider leaving the GTHA, with 53 per cent of respondents indicating they have contemplated relocating in order to escape congestion.
“It’s mind-boggling to see those kinds of numbers,” Board of Trade president Giles Gherson told CTV News Toronto.
“What we’re hearing in general is that it is a crisis. And that it is the priority for a lot of people.”
The statistics suggest significant pressures on the ability of business to maintain both top talent and footprints within the core.
Sixty-two per cent of respondents said they are reluctant to travel to work because of congestion-related delays. Of the age group 18-34, a key talent demographic, 64 per cent have considered moving away, threatening a developing workforce exodus.
Residents, meanwhile, indicate that stifling travel times have forced them to alter their routines and avoid activities that benefit the economy. Forty-two per cent of respondents said they avoid shopping or attending sports or entertainment events because of the traffic; 38 per cent refrain from dining out, and 31 per cent avoid visiting family and friends.
The change in consumer behavior signals possible losses in both revenue and jobs in the retail and hospitality sectors, stalling the downtown’s recovery and economic growth more broadly.
Forty-six per cent of drivers reported that their commutes take longer today than a year ago, and 62 per cent are reluctant to travel to work because of it, counter to a growing employer attempt to bring workers back into the office three or more days a week.
The majority of respondents cited construction as the main cause of congestion, with three-quarters indicating support for 24-hour roadwork or public transit construction in order to hasten the schedules.
It comes as Toronto city council awaits a plan for accelerating the rehabilitation of the Gardiner Expressway. The three-year lane closure between Dufferin St. and Strachan Ave. that began in April incited outcry as drivers reported unprecedented increases to commute times, later confirmed to be as high as 250 per cent.
The city staff plan for expediting the rebuild of the western Gardiner was scheduled to be presented to the Mayor’s executive committee Tuesday, though as of Monday night the report had not been published.
The Toronto Region Board of Trade, meanwhile, has assembled a congestion task force that is working to develop an action plan to combat the growing gridlock, scheduled to be released early next year.
“There’s a sense that the City has not come to grips with this,” Gherson said.
“Congestion is very much uppermost in people’s minds, and they want it resolved.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian former Olympic snowboarder wanted in Ontario double homicide: DOJ
A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an 'innocent' couple in Ontario in 2023, authorities say.
Ontario school board trustees under fire for $100K religious art purchase on Italy trip
Trustees with an Ontario school board are responding to criticism over a $45,000 trip to Italy, where they purchased more than $100,000 worth of religious statues.
A photographer snorkeled for hours to take this picture
Shane Gross, a Canadian marine conservation photojournalist, has won the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Tobacco giants would pay out $32.5 billion to provinces, smokers in proposed deal
Three tobacco giants are proposing to pay close to $25 billion to provinces and territories and more than $4 billion to some 100,000 Quebec smokers and their loved ones as part of a corporate restructuring process triggered by a long-running legal battle.
More Trudeau cabinet ministers not running for re-election, sources say shuffle expected soon
Federal cabinet ministers Filomena Tassi, Carla Qualtrough and Dan Vandal announced Thursday they will not run for re-election. Senior government sources tell CTV News at least one other, Marie-Claude Bibeau, doesn't plan to run again, setting the stage for Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet in the coming weeks.
Robert Pickton's handwritten book seized after his death in hopes of uncovering new evidence
A handwritten book was seized from B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton's prison cell following his death earlier this year, raising hopes of uncovering new evidence in a series of unprosecuted murders.
Former members of One Direction say they're 'completely devastated' by Liam Payne's death
The former members of English boy band One Direction reacted publicly to the sudden death of their bandmate, Liam Payne, for the first time on Thursday, saying in a joint statement that they're 'completely devastated.'
Israel says it has killed top Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar in Gaza
Israeli forces in Gaza killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year's attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel's most wanted man.
Indian government employee charged in foiled murder-for-hire plot in New York City
The U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges Thursday against an Indian government employee in connection with a foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.