Chow Shares Her Plan to Reduce Congestion in Toronto

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Toronto’s most popular mayoral candidate, Olivia Chow, revealed her plan to relieve traffic congestions in the city on Thursday, promising to crack down on those who clog up streets unnecessarily. Addressing reporters on Thursday morning, Chow outlined a number of steps she would take, if elected, to make sure traffic runs more smoothly.

Explaining her plans, Chow stated that “at intersections and lanes that are closed because of construction, but there is no construction going on, companies should be fined.” Chow exemplified such situations with River Street north of Gerrard Street as an example of a spot where motorists have been frustrated by ongoing lane closures for months, despite the fact that construction work is not always visible. According to Chow, developers should have to pay more to shut down lanes of traffic for construction. She alleged that “because there’s a flat fee, there’s no financial incentives for companies to make construction go faster,” and so “we should reward good performance.”

Chow pointed out that Toronto charges a flat fee of roughly $3,500 per month to shut down a lane of traffic, whereas Chicago charges the same to shut down a lane for a day and increases its fees after 18 months. Chow stated that “the longer you block it (roads), the more you should pay.” In addition to that, Chow alleged that the city could reduce the number of pot holes that disfigure city streets by checking that good patchwork is done by companies that are permitted to tear up city streets for whatever reason.