Transportation in Toronto - Future Prospects and Concerns

Future Prospects and Concerns

The population of Toronto is increasing dramatically. The regional population is expected to reach 7 million within the next 10 years from the current 5.5 million and the growth rate is among the fastest for any city in North America. Over the last couple of decades, vehicle and (in particular) highway traffic has been increasing steadily in the Greater Toronto Area; however, road and transit investments have been limited to projects such as HOV lanes on Highway 404, the construction of Highway 407 to the north of the city, the Sheppard subway, and York Region's VIVA bus service. Urban sprawl is a major factor: some commuters travel significant distances within the city and GTA for employment. Downtown-to-suburb and suburb-suburb commutes have been increasing as well, which existing public transit services are not set up to efficiently accommodate. This contributes to gridlock: many single-occupant vehicles idle en route, adding to travel times and smog. A recent study showed that gridlock costs the GTA's economy approximately $5 billion annually in lost revenue and that the average commute time in Greater Toronto Area exceeds that of 19 larger or comparable sized cities.

In March 2004, the Ontario government announced the creation of the "Greater Toronto Transit Authority" (GTTA - not to be confused with GTAA, acronym for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority), renamed Metrolinx in December 2007, with the goal of facilitating improved integration between the city and suburban transport systems. One key element to this integration would be a single ticket or fare to better synchronise transfers between neighbouring transit systems and lower the costs commuters by having a "single fare" ticket. At that time, the federal, provincial, and municipal governments jointly announced a tripartite funding infusion of $1 billion for the TTC. In May 2004, the Ontario government, in partnership with the federal government, announced a $1 billion plus investment in the expansion of GO Transit. On March 23, 2006, the Government of Ontario announced funding for the extension northward of the TTC's Spadina Subway Line to the York University campus and beyond into the proposed Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (formerly known as Vaughan Corporate Centre) at Highway 7 and Jane Street in neighbouring Vaughan, York Region. When completed, it will be the first extension of the TTC subway system beyond the current municipal border of Toronto. In addition, Metrolinx is providing $8.4 billion of funding to construct four light rail lines throughout the City, including light rail lines along Eglinton Avenue, Finch Avenue West, and Sheppard Avenue East, as well as the Scarborough RT replacement, all of which are expected to be completed and in operation by 2020.