Toronto City Council unanimously approves MoveTO action plan including expanded Construction Hub pilot

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Ontario Construction News staff writer

Toronto City Council unanimously approved the MoveTO action plan, including the expansion of a Construction Hub pilot program designed to manage traffic and reduce congestion caused by construction around work zones.

An expansion of the pilot is proposed and will include three new locations: Lakeshore Hub, Downtown Hub and East Harbour. The next step is a focus on working with developers to do more to reduce the amount of time the right-of-way is closed due to construction.

The MoveTO plan proposes five key measures that will help make the city’s transportation system more resilient in response to the effects of COVID-19 on Toronto’s overall transportation network.

“This plan delivers smart, common-sense approaches that will help pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and drivers get around our city,” said Mayor John Tory. I have urged staff to have the technology in place as quickly as possible to make sure we have a more modern and safer transportation system as soon as possible that responds and adapts to traffic in real time.”

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In addition to expanding the Construction Hub Pilot, key proposed actions that will launch starting next year include:

  • ‘Smart’ traffic signals – automatically adjusted signal timing based on actual traffic demand. Staff are proposing 500 locations over the next five years.
  • ‘Intelligent’ intersections – helps to improve safety at intersections for pedestrians and cyclists. Staff are proposing 100 locations over the next two years.
  • Advanced Transit Signal Priority (ATSP) – detects buses running behind schedule and extends green times when necessary. There are currently 400 locations with Transit Signal Priority in the city and staff are proposing to accelerate the implementation of ATSP on 100 more priority locations over the next two years with a focus on key TTC corridors across the city.
  • Transportation Demand Management Strategy – a set of measures to help avoid congestion at specific times, locations, and on certain modes of transportation. Staff propose building on the existing Smart Commute program with local employers to provide additional supports for commuters.

Recommended strategies aim to “reduce travel times and improve travel reliability for vehicles, improve safety and optimize movement for pedestrians and people on bikes at intersections, improve transit operations, coordinate construction activities to minimize impacts to the transportation network and improve safety, and help employers to reduce travel demand and greenhouse gas emissions.”

The MoveTO plan also considers safer streets, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking further steps towards a more equitable transportation network in Toronto. Some of these strategies include the recently approved Freight and Goods Movement Strategy, the Traffic Agents program and the Vision Zero Road Safety Plan.

The full interim MoveTO report is available online.

“This plan is a commitment to improve not only congestion but also road safety. The technology and strategies contained in the MoveTO plan will help keep pedestrians and people on bikes safer, prevent collisions and will keep goods moving,” said Councillor James Pasternak, chair infrastructure and environment committee chair.

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