Blocking traffic for construction will cost builders in Toronto

Builders will now have to pay a tax if they want to block traffic lanes during their work. One more measure adopted Thursday by the city council to better manage traffic jams in Toronto.

The idea is to encourage companies to free up the lanes as quickly as possible.

The City is also increasing the amount of fines for drivers who block traffic lanes. These fines increase from 190 to 300 dollars.

Councilor Josh Matlow hopes that these higher fines will change the behavior of motorists.

They put on their flashers, they go get a coffee at Starbucks, they go get their clothes at the dry cleaners, this is not acceptable.

What we intuitively understood is that if they don’t care about others, they might care about their own wallethe declares.

These changes come just weeks after the City of Toronto increased fines for drivers who block intersections.

Better plan congestion management

Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie says city staff will publish an online dashboard of congestion-fighting measures to show how and where they have been implemented.

She says it’s a way to provide Torontonians with a clear vision of what the city is doing to combat congestion and track progress.

City residents will be able to see actions underway and hold us accountable for what we said we were going to domaintains Ms. McKelvie.

Measures that are not unanimous

Councilor Stephen Holyday wants his colleagues to rethink their view of the problem. For him, it’s not just about managing traffic jams, but actively trying to reduce them.

According to him, we should first of all rename the City’s traffic jam management plan to a traffic jam reduction plan.

When we make decisions in council, let’s think about traffic jams, he said. The only reason I ask this is because this is what is most important to many residents of this city.

Councilman Gord Perks groaned in frustration, burying his head in his arms in the council chambers, as Mr. Holyday presented a series of motions asking the city to commit to reducing traffic congestion.

Shortly after, Mr. Perks stressed that his colleague’s motions were irrelevant. He believes having some traffic jams is a sign of Toronto’s strong economy and the city doesn’t want its streets empty.

Congestion is not an indicator of failure. This is, in many cases, an indicator of success.

Ultimately, Mr. Holyday’s motion to rename the plan failed, but council passed a general resolution that he proposed and was amended by Councilor Jamaal Myers, that the City should commit to reduce travel times between origin and destination for everyone.

This resolution was adopted by a vote of 17 to 7. Mr. Perks and Mayor Olivia Chow were among the council members who voted against the motion.

With reporting from CBC’s Shawn Jeffords