“Weekend road closures are often disjointed and cause major traffic delays, congestion and gridlock. People want to move and we are not moving.” – Mark Saunders

Toronto - A headline last week said: “Toronto’s summer of traffic torment begins today,” and it’s holding true. If you look at this past weekend- a number of road closures in the city made it difficult for people to get around.

Toronto is the heart of Canada. It’s where fans go to watch the Jays, Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC, and Argos. It’s where the tourists go. It’s where conference attendees go. It’s where the city’s largest celebrations, charity events and parades all take place. It’s home to the best hospitals and trauma centres in the nation.

Toronto should be a showpiece to the world, but too often, it’s not. Toronto’s congestion is often made worse by bad planning.

This week, Saunders is going to talk about his plan to ease congestion in downtown and throughout the city. For starters, as Mayor, he would:

• Limit the number of road closures in the city at any one time.
• Stop the weekend “clean-up” closures of the Gardiner and Don Valley Parkway and requiring work repairing and cleaning be done during the night.

“Congestion is everywhere and people aren’t coming to Toronto on the weekend because they are afraid of the traffic. Coming to our city shouldn’t be an insufferable experience,” said Saunders. “If we don’t make it easier for people to get around, they will stop wanting to be here.”

Saunders will announce more details of his plan to help people get around more easily over the coming week.