Toronto’s ActiveTO program, which closes roads like Lakeshore Boulevard on weekends, is due to major repairs due to the impact it has on traffic, which is largely back to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic, said Mayor John Torrey.
Torrey said CP24 said it had received complaints about ActiveTO, in particular the closure of Lakeshore Boulevard West and its impact on traffic over the weekend.
“I have data on traffic, there is no doubt that this has had a greater adverse effect on traffic during this time,” he said. “All I can say is that we study all these results, data and real real evidence very carefully, unlike the stories.
“We will come up with something that takes all these considerations into account.”
Toronto introduced street closure, known as the ActiveTO program, in 2020 to give people more space to go out safely when COVID-19 was raging and many other activities were not allowed to work.
Torrey said he wanted the program to continue after the pandemic because of its value in bringing people out into the open.
“We like the idea that some of our streets and public places can be used by people all the time, so we continued the program in a way to study the results.
A CP24 viewer who lives along the Lakeshore section closed to ActiveTO said he questioned the value of the recent closures of ActiveTO, given the relatively small number of people taking advantage and the heavy traffic it monitors on Queensway.
Data collected from the city of Toronto in 2021 suggests travel time on the Gardiner and Queensway highways twice or even tripled in the days of ActiveTO compared to “conditions without closing ActiveTO and measures to block the province.”
He said the program would not be completely eliminated, but would instead demonstrate a “balance” between easing traffic and allowing people to continue using the streets without cars at times.
“We need to have a balance in the program and have a city that can close roads from time to time for big events and just make people happy to be outside,” he said. “But we also need to keep in mind that people need to move, business needs to continue, neighborhoods need to be protected and people need to be able to come and go from their own homes.
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