Toronto Downtown Transportation Operations Study

IBI Group was retained by the City of Toronto to complete a downtown transportation operations study to determine what short- and long-term solutions could benefit all of Toronto’s road users and fight traffic congestion. IBI’s transportation engineers set out to create a plan that would be focused on transportation into, out of, and within the study area; committed to helping all road users; confined to the existing surface transportation infrastructure; and intended to identify short-term and medium-term solutions to traffic issues.

Stakeholder consultation was critical to study input, and the team used a variety of methods to engage the public. A study webpage was added to the City of Toronto website, and an online survey and interactive issues mapping portal were developed to allow the public to identify locations with recurring traffic issues in the downtown core. The survey generated nearly 4,000 responses. Individual meetings were held with all Ward Councillors, key BIAs, venue operators, and City departments.

The study recommended 17 potential projects, aimed at all forms of surface transportation, following four general themes: coordination and communication, traffic regulations and management, traffic circulation, and intelligent transportation systems. The study also produced a framework for the evaluation of proposed future transportation projects.

IBI’s report helped inform Mayor John Tory and the City of Toronto’s #getTOmoving campaign and traffic plan 2.0, focusing on six key elements:

• Quickly clearing minor crashes on the Gardiner, DVP and other major arteries
• Full-time traffic civilian wardens at several hotspots around the city
• Requesting all non-emergency hydro, gas, cable and phone companies to work in off-peak hours
• Sharing traffic data to give users enhanced information to plan/adjust commutes
• Using innovative traffic signal plans to manage the flow of traffic into the Downtown Core
• Studying increased fines for traffic blocking offences and streamlining their administration