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FORUM: Easing congestion into summer (May/June 2025)

July 10th, 2025 · No Comments

Improving transit, hiring more traffic agents

By Dianne Saxe

Hello neighbours! Everyone seems happier in May: the days are longer, the weather is lovely, and flowers are springing up everywhere! 

Thank you to everyone who joined our Community Cleanup at Fred Hamilton Park. Thank you as well to everyone who came out to our Spring Spectacular at Christie Pits! 

It was most definitely a seasonal highlight, featuring free food, carnival games, face-painting and more! 

To learn more about upcoming events, stay connected with us on Instagram (@dianne.saxe) and X (@Diannesaxe) and visit diannesaxe.ca to sign up for our newsletter.

One of the key items approved at April’s Council meeting was to upgrade how we manage congestion and coordinate construction that blocks streets and sidewalks. Higher lane occupancy fees, more traffic agents, and stronger coordination, etc., are already noticeably easing congestion and reducing travel times.

I am very glad to hear that, despite continuing challenges with congestion in our city, travel times have improved and should continue along a trajectory towards even further improvement. 

Happily, the Superior Court issued an injunction preventing the Province from ripping out the Yonge, University and Bloor bike lanes during the court process. 

The judge noted “compelling” evidence that bike lanes improve safety, and do not worsen congestion, despite the province’s ‘anecdotal’ claims to the contrary. 

Thank you to Cycle Toronto & Ecojustice for bringing the lawsuit, and to each of the volunteer experts.

Parks staff tell me that their most divisive, emotional issues usually revolve around off-leash dogs. 

Toronto has about 600,000 dogs, with many of them living downtown with no private outdoor space and playing in parks, ravines, and schoolyards. 

Several reports addressing the issue passed Council in April – one improving the management of ~350 dangerous dogs, the other a strategy for dedicated off-leash spaces where other dogs can exercise and socialize. 

The new dog strategy standardizes criteria for new off-leash dog areas, their hours, and when they can be used by commercial dog walkers. It will also improve maintenance and enforcement. 

Last month, I persuaded Toronto City Council to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in neighbourhood polls. 

These are not formal elections, but a form of local consultation. It is important however, that youth feel that they have a voice in their communities, and this new legislation encourages greater civic participation, making it more likely to create life-long voters. 

Furthermore, young people will inherit the consequences of our decisions, so I’m glad to help give them a larger voice in that future.

Much of my work over these past months was focused on making TTC more reliable. 

Buses and streetcars are often caught in traffic. The two main solutions are to give transit vehicles their own priority lanes (RapidTO) and priority getting through intersections. 

Consultation will take place this month for the proposed Bathurst and Dufferin RapidTO lanes, which are essential for rapid, reliable transit on these key routes during FIFA and beyond. However, the cheapest and fastest thing the City can do is to give transit vehicles priority green lights at intersections. 

I was shocked to learn that only half the intersections on our 20 busiest bus and streetcar lines have signal priority equipment. 

Worse, 1 out of 4 of those are broken, and most of the remainder are out of date. I am pushing hard at the TTC and at Council to get this fixed. Transit vehicles need true prioritization to improve reliability. 

I would encourage everyone to look online and review the RapidTO Bathurst plans at https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-transportation/transportation-projects/rapidto/rapidto-bathurst-street/. 

If you did not have a chance to complete the survey by the May 26th deadline, please connect with my office, as the City of Toronto and the TTC want your input.

Every month for the rest of the term, I will be donating my salary increase to a worthy charity in Ward 11. Let me know your favourite and why!

Dianne Saxe is city councillor for Ward 11, University-Rosedale.

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Tags: Annex · Columns · Opinion