Traffic congestion and travel times are improving on Toronto roads, new city data says – NOW Toronto

The City of Toronto says traffic congestion and transit reliability are improving due to the city’s recent management measures in speeding up travel times. 

The city listed a number of improvements in key high-traffic corridors currently under construction in a news release on Thursday, boasting that the measures have made successful improvements in the areas. 

Temporary bus replacements came to Spadina Avenue in June as a result of TTC conducting infrastructure upgrades along the 510 streetcar route, upsetting many riders who believed the buses would slow down their commutes on the already busy street. The city later installed a southbound temporary priority transit lane on Spadina between Richmond Street and Lake Shore Boulevard to improve traffic flows, transit reliability and cyclist safety. 

Southbound bus travel times between Dundas Street West and Lake Shore Boulevard during the afternoon peak period (3 to 7 p.m.) have been reduced by up to 40 minutes, a significant decrease from 56 minutes at its peak to as quickly as 16 minutes, the city’s data shows. 

The temporary bus lane will remain in place while streetcar service is suspended until the TTC completes construction in December. 

The Liberty Village Traffic Action Plan was another traffic management strategy the city listed, a plan formed earlier this year following residents’ complaints of the constant frustrating gridlock in the neighbourhood.

The city says a few approaches it plans to implement are deploying traffic agents and Toronto police officers to key intersections during games at BMO Field, installing new traffic cameras at the intersections of Strachan Avenue/Wellington Street West and Dufferin/Liberty streets and limiting lane restrictions for non-emergency construction work.

Watermain and streetcar track replacement work on King Street West between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue has also been completed 10 weeks ahead of schedule, the city said, and will fully reopen to vehicles and transit sooner than anticipated, however the exact date is unknown. 

Transit travel times along King Street have also significantly improved while critical construction work on Adelaide Street was completed, the city noted, through added traffic signals and signage for motor vehicles, transit vehicles and cyclists. Additionally, traffic signal timings were modified to increase the east-west travel times for streetcars, giving them more time to get through intersections.

Streetcar travel times on King Street have remained relatively consistent, servicing riders 28 to 44 minutes faster between University Avenue and Jarvis Street compared with 2023’s peak travel times, the data reads. 

The city is also making use of traffic agents, assisting in managing traffic at intersections by directing all road users in real-time. 

“The agents play a crucial role in ensuring roads are clear for transit and emergency vehicles,” the city explained in the news release. 

According to the data, the presence of a traffic agent eliminates instances of vehicles blocking intersections 96 per cent of the time, reduces travel times by up to 33 per cent, and decreases the risk of collisions or near misses between vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.