Toronto the Carbuncle (Update)

Toronto the "Gridlocked Carcass"

   Almost five years ago, I wrote a post with the title at the top. Whenever I chance upon it, I think it a bit harsh. Perhaps not. A better one would be "Toronto the CARbuncle." There is an article in the Globe and Mail today, with the following title, and you should read it: "If Toronto Can't Improve its World-Class Traffic, It Will Decay Into a Gridlocked Carcass," by Andrew Clark. At least Toronto is "world-class" in something.

   Here is the interesting part:

   TomTom, provider of GPS-based navigation systems, analyzed data from more than 600 million in-car navigation systems and smartphones to identify trends in 387 cities across 55 countries throughout 2023.

   TomTom found that Toronto had the third-worst traffic in the world – not in Canada, not in North America, in the world. Only London and Dublin ranked higher. Think of a city with legendarily bad traffic. They all ranked lower (better) than Toronto. Los Angeles (233); New York (20); New Delhi (44); Vancouver (32). It took the average Toronto driver 29 minutes to travel 10 kilometres. Top runners can cover this distance faster. The pace would also be considered slow for most cyclists on a road bike. Drivers in Toronto spent 255 hours a year driving (98 of those caused by congestion). TomTom also offers real-time traffic analysis. As I write this, the average speed in Toronto is 16 kilometres an hour and there are 387 reported traffic jams spanning 371 kilometres.

   There are also other interesting comments. Mr. Clark notes that the transit problem is being ignored while "the mayor and the media squabble about a patch of pavement that is an embarrassing tribute to ugliness."  He solves that problem for them by suggesting new names for Dundas Square, one of which is "William Hogarth Presents". For those who like illustrations, more than words, a link is provided. 

   In the article, this question is raised: "Why should anyone outside Toronto care if no one in the city cares enough to do anything about it?" (The congestion, not "Dundas," who very few, even in Toronto, care about.) The answer to that question is found in "Toronto the Carbuncle."  Those of us who live far outside of Toronto, in either direction, care simply because it stands in the way of those of us who are trying to get somewhere nicer. The only other reason used to be because we were trying to get to Pearson to go somewhere nicer, but no one wants to go there now and not just because of the traffic.

Source: 
  Apart from the article and my post which indicated congestion was a problem at the beginning of this century, see the : TOMTOM Traffic Index.