A new task force aims to address Toronto's traffic congestion issues

The Toronto Area Board of Trade has launched a new task force to tackle the city's worsening traffic congestion.

In a press release issued Wednesday, the trade council said the task force will work to identify “practical, high-impact solutions to Toronto's congestion crisis.”

“Despite generational transit investments and short-term fixes, including new traffic agents on the ground and better use of real-time data, the city has reached a tipping point,” the report said.

According to the board of trade, the task force has begun a dialogue with Mayor Olivia Chow and City Manager Paul Johnson to address the issues facing Toronto commuters.

“Both expressed their commitment to addressing this important issue and agreed that cooperation with the business community is needed and encouraged,” the statement said.

The task force is made up of 19 senior business leaders with a “significant presence” in Toronto.

“Toronto's congestion crisis is excruciatingly long travel times for people, goods and services, reducing the livability of our city and significantly reducing the competitiveness of businesses. It affects our global reputation and costs us more than $11 billion annually in lost productivity,” said Giles Gerson, president and CEO of the Toronto Area Trade Council.

Last month, a report released by navigation and positioning technology company TomTom ranked Toronto as the most congested city in North America, beating out New York and Mexico City.

In its annual traffic index, TomTom has revealed that Toronto is the third most congested city in the world, after London and Dublin.

The index showed Toronto commuters need an average of 29 minutes to complete a 10-kilometre journey, up 50 seconds from a year ago. It also found that Torontonians lost an average of 98 hours to traffic in 2023.

“Our team of business leaders has a strong history of solving problems and implementing bold solutions,” said Gerson.

“They're here to act, and by the end of the year, we'll be presenting solutions to the city that will have a real impact on how people and businesses move through our region.”