Bottlenecks and parking main complaints from survey on downtown Toronto traffic

TORONTO – Bottlenecks caused by public transit vehicles, parking and construction are the top complaints filed so far by Toronto residents taking part in an online survey on downtown traffic.

The survey is part of a city-led study that aims to help find solutions to the ongoing congestion in the area between Bathurst and Jarvis streets south of Queen Street.

The city held a drop-in event at Metro Hall on Wednesday to drum up participation for the study and encourage feedback on traffic issues.

“When we’re looking at fixing problems, a solution for someone who drives downtown every day is going to be different than one for someone who takes transit,” said Andre Filippetti, the city of Toronto’s manager of traffic planning. “We’re trying to get a sense of what the priorities are for people in the downtown core right now.”

The survey went live Friday and asks residents to weigh in on eight types of traffic problems, including cars and transit vehicles jockeying for space and Gardiner Expressway capacity constraints.

Filippetti, who hears traffic-related concerns on a regular basis, said he wasn’t surprised to see many complaints about King Street fall under the legal lane and road occupancies category.

“A lot of these blockages are due to development… we’re going through a period of unprecedented growth in the city,” said Filippetti. “You have to crack an egg to make an omelette, and there are a lot of eggs cracking right now. These are the growing pains of development.”

More than 800 people have filled out the survey so far, and it will remain active until April 10.

The event came only two days after Premier Kathleen Wynne called for a dedicated revenue stream to fund transit and other infrastructure projects such as road and bridge repairs.

While infrastructure was not addressed on the survey, it didn’t stop people from complaining about it.

Robert Lunney, a retired Peel Region police officer who lives near the intersection of King Street and University Avenue, indicated on his survey that he would like to see more transit options across the GTA.

“Our biggest concern in downtown Toronto is simply going in and out,” said Lunney. “I take public transportation whenever I can, but when you’re going to Mississauga or farther, you have to take your car to save time.”