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CTV News
16 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
City councillor urges city to temporarily reopen King Street to cars amid downtown construction
City Councillor Brad Bradford speaks about the spike in congestion in Toronto and the motion he will put forward to get King Street reopened to vehicles. Toronto city councillor Brad Bradford says the city must act on what he calls a 'common-sense' solution to worsening downtown gridlock: reopen a key stretch of King Street to vehicles until major construction wraps later this summer. Standing near the closed King and Church streets on Thursday, Bradford said downtown congestion has surged since the intersection was shut earlier this month to replace a 142-year-old watermain. With no streetcars currently using King Street between Spadina Avenue and Church Street, Bradford says he plans to introduce a motion at next week's council meeting to temporarily allow cars back onto the corridor. It's a move he says is already backed by businesses and residents in the area. 'What I'm hearing from Torontonians is they are mad as hell with the congestion in the downtown core,' Bradford told reporters. 'They want the city to take it seriously. They want the mayor to step up and do something. If she's not prepared to do that, I will.' Construction closures bringing traffic to a crawl In addition to replacing the watermain, the work along the King-Church includes rebuilding TTC streetcar tracks. Watermain construction at King and Church intersection causing traffic, commute chaos Watermain construction at King and Church intersection causing traffic, commute chaos However, Bradford argues that no streetcars have been running through the corridor, with several routes instead using Richmond and Adelaide streets. 'These streets are already under pressure from the Ontario Line construction, lane closures and everyday commuting,' Bradford said. 'Now there are four busy streetcar lines moving more than street 30 streetcars per hour that have been diverted onto Richmond and Adelaide.' Bradford emphasized that due to this overflow, it makes little sense to restrict King Street when streetcars don't use it. Rethinking a traffic strategy Bradford's motion, seconded by Coun. Stephen Holyday, also calls on the city's Deputy City Manager of Infrastructure Services to develop better strategies for managing congestion ahead of major downtown infrastructure work — something he explains is even more urgent because the city's planned 'congestion czar' has yet to be appointed. That czar role was approved by council in April, part of Mayor Olivia Chow's wider congestion strategy. But a report on what the role will entail isn't due until July 10. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow speaks to reporters on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press) Another staff also suggested that Toronto's 5,600-kilometre road network has not expanded in decades, despite massive growth in construction activity and traffic volume. Last summer, up to 24 per cent of city roads were closed at one time, more than doubling travel times. The report also highlighted the city plans to have 67 traffic agents in place by summer — but enforcement alone may not be enough, Bradford suggests. 'This is about using common sense and looking for creative solutions to our problems,' Bradford said. 'We should be making better use of all the corridors that are available at our disposal when we can, particularly one that is significantly underutilized right now.' A 'segregated' east end feeling left out, Bradford says While the King–Church intersection isn't in Bradford's Beaches–East York ward, he says the consequences of downtown congestion are city-wide — particularly for residents east of Yonge Street. 'Respectfully, a lot of people from the east end of the city feel entirely cut off from the downtown core,' Bradford said. 'When they took that ramp down on the Gardiner, they segregated the east end of Toronto and made it very difficult and painful to get into the core, and we're still dealing with the impacts of that.' Gardiner Expressway Westbound traffic is seen on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press) 'I'm standing up for everybody east of Yonge that's having a hard time getting into the core, and folks from out in Etobicoke, North York, trying to get downtown.' Developers and business leaders have also lined up behind the motion, warning that gridlock is hurting the city's economic engine. 'Fixing Toronto's mobility crisis requires action, not just talk,' said Jon Love, executive chair of KingSett Capital. 'There's no reason for King Street to be reserved for streetcar priority when there are no streetcars running on it.' Leona Savoie, co-chair of NAIOP Greater Toronto's government relations committee, called the motion 'a common-sense solution to alleviate congestion and get Toronto moving again.' A bid for mayor? Notably, Bradford was asked several times during Thursday's news conference about whether he was trying to lay the groundwork for a future mayoral run, to which he said: 'I have not made any decision on that... As a member of the 25 councillors and 26 including the mayor, it is becoming on all of us to stand up and fight on the issues that are important for people that are trying to call the city home.'
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Ontario budget to include plans to remove more Toronto bike lanes
A cyclist rides down Toronto's University Avenue, on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young Premier Doug Ford's government is planning to remove additional bike lanes in downtown Toronto. CTV News has learned that the budget set to be unveiled Thursday will include the removal of bike lanes along Queen's Park Crescent and Avenue Road. The news, first reported by the Toronto Star, comes hours after Ford said he was not looking at removing more bike lanes. During an unrelated news conference on Wednesday, Ford was asked if there were other bike lanes in Toronto he was looking at taking out. 'Not right now,' the premier said. He reiterated that he wants bike lanes to be built as long as they are not on main arterial roads. 'That's the right thing to do and let's start moving on it and get traffic moving as well.' University Avenue becomes Queen's Park Crescent between College Street and Bloor Street, then becoming Avenue Road north of Bloor Street. The Ontario government was already in the process of ripping up bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue, but that work has been paused after a judge granted an injunction. The province, which had suggested that targeting bike lanes on the three major roadways would help reduce Toronto's traffic congestion, has appealed the injunction. Cyclist groups are challenging the constitutionality of the legislation. City councillors have also voiced their opposition to the bike lane removals. Last month, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Transport said the province was open to a compromise with the city when it comes to the bike lanes. In addition to the bike lane removals, the budget is expected to include axing the toll on Highway 407 East, making the gas tax cut permanent and boosting a tax credit for manufacturers. Ford has indicated that the budget will have measures to stimulate the economy amid the trade war with the United States. With files from The Canadian Press
