TRANSPORTATION CHOICE

TRANSPORTATION POLICY BEYOND TRANSIT

The third in a series of David Soknackis three policy papers on gridlock
September 8, 2014






This is the third of three policy papers on transit and gridlock from David Soknacki.
Part 1 Real Transit, Immediate Relief July 18, 2014.
Part 2 Building Transit for the Future Now July 23, 2014.
SUMMARY OF COMMITMENTS
1. Remove parking on downtown arterial roads on core streets, offsetting some lost
parking with multi-story lots on existing Green P surface lots nearby.
2. Double the bike lane budget to complete the 200km minimum grid with the maximum
number of safe, separated bike lanes for commuters; add $3m to the annual capital
budget to finance safety improvements at accident hotspots, while making policy
changes to accelerate environmental assessments for bike lanes and increase bike
parking.
3. Launch a pilot project partnered with the University of Toronto to reduce congestion
with better traffic and signals management.
4. Hire an experienced construction manager into the Mayors Office to directly advise the
Mayor and Council on best practices policies for cost control and faster construction;
directly release City construction schedules as open data sets to develop a public Big
Board tracking current and future construction plans, public and private.
5. Harmonize City High Occupancy Vehicle regulations with the Provincial standard.
6. Open up City regulations to allow for innovative commuting models.
7. Promote the use of roundabouts to manage traffic.
8. Support (temporary) tolls in the DVP HOV lane only as a way to finance extension of the
HOV lane along the entire Parkway; tentatively support the proposed relocation of the
Gardiner East, and prioritize the Redway Road expansion to Bayview Avenue.

MORE CHOICES, REALISTIC RESULTS
Most observers believe that public transit is the top issue in this election. Earlier this year, like
other candidates for Mayor, I released my transit platform. Unlike other candidates, I chose not
to draw lines on a map to represent transit routes that will never be built.
Instead, I propose to make better use of existing transit capacity with ideas like rear-door
streetcar and bus boarding, and Early Bird free fares to shift people away from crowded rush
hour transit vehicles. I support rapid action to build already-planned LRT lines on Sheppard,
Scarborough and on Finch. I will prioritize a Relief Line subway, as transit engineers and
planners already do.
Still, the debate in Election 2014 has often sidestepped reality. Torontonians are frustrated by
gridlock in general, not just transit gridlock. For the foreseeable future, a large and growing
number of Torontonians will still rely on cars or bicycles for personal mobility. Trucks are still
our workhorse for freight. Even a massive increase in transit use will not change this reality.


Even if in one in five Toronto car commuters gives up
driving for public transit, a clear majority of commuters
would still be getting to work by car.

Change is possible, but we have to plan our way around our limitations to change. For
example, new rapid transit infrastructure will take years or even decades to build especially if
we keep electing politicians who want to rewrite existing transit plans to suit their own
ambitions.
To understand the limits of change, consider this: if one in five Toronto car commuters gives
up driving for public transit, a clear majority of Toronto commuters would still be getting to
work or school by car.
To balance the reality of a city built for car traffic with changing priorities on congestion and the
environment, we need policies that allow commuters to positively choose alternatives to car
dependency. We also need policies to improve traffic management, infrastructure
management, car safety, carpool use and rideshare opportunities in the medium term - for the
sake of drivers, for the sake of people in other transport modes, and for the sake of the
environment.

DOWNTOWN ONSTREET PARKING
Our streets are gridlocked, especially in the downtown core as drivers seek to cross downtown
to reach major thoroughfares heading north, east and west. With this level of congestion, the
simple truth is that space on key roads is too valuable to waste. Roads exist to move people,
not to park cars.
To fight gridlock on key road routes downtown, once elected, I will ask Council to phase out
parking on major downtown routes within the core area of downtown [bounded by Bathurst,
Front, Jarvis and Bloor, inclusive], to free up space for car through-traffic, dedicated transit
access and bike lanes. The actual use of the freed-up lane on any given street depends on the
street, on nearby connections (for bike paths or transit lines) and planner recommendations.
By major streets, I mean arterial roads like King and Queen, Bloor and College, University
and Yonge. In every case, the change would not proceed without consultation with local
Business Improvement Areas, residents and councillors to address issues like access for
persons with disabilities and emergency parking although the usual we cant do it here
critics should note that dozens of other cities have adopted similar policies in the past. This is a
practical, tested, medium-term solution to downtown traffic challenges.
The change would be phased in over 3 years (2016-2018). This should result in a one-time
reduction of less than one thousand parking stalls, which is just a fraction of both the overall
city parking inventory in the core area, and a fraction of the private off-street parking available.
Nevertheless, to partly offset the loss of parking spaces I will pursue revenue-sharing
partnerships to finance and develop multi-level Green P parkades on up to eight (8) existing
City-owned surface lots. Twelve Green P surface lots exist in and around the core area.

CYCLING AND ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
Toronto is falling behind other major North American cities in the expansion of safe, separated
bike lane infrastructure. Our original vision at the turn of the new century was for 500km of new
bike lanes. Were only a fifth of the way to that goal, even though car-friendly cities like
Chicago and Houston have shot far past us in just the last few years.

In 2013, for fitness, I commuted by bike to my own
business daily. It was an educational experience,
opening my eyes to the challenges, the risks and the
benefits of cycling as a commuter mode.

Like many suburban politicians of this era, I began as an occasional skeptic of the need for
better bike infrastructure. However, Ive learned firsthand about the need for new, separated,
commuter friendly bike paths. In 2013, for fitness, I commuted by bike to my own business
daily. It was an educational experience, opening my eyes to the challenges, the risks and the
benefits from of cycling as a commuter mode. It also opened my eyes to the total inadequacy
of our existing bike infrastructure for drivers and cyclists alike.
Real, safe, protected bike lanes and better transit options must be available for those who are
willing to choose cheaper, cleaner and healthier modes of transportation. To get there, on May
23 before Cycle TO announced its minimum grid threshold, I announced my own plan:
2X More Bike Lanes than Planned for 2015-2018.
Despite one opponents claims to the contrary, rapid bike lane expansion cannot be
achieved simply by re-aligning existing budgets; significant funding increases are
needed to get the job done safely and properly. When elected Mayor, I will double bike
lane funding beyond existing plans to complete the 2012 ten-year bike lane plan, now
two years in, by the end of 2018. I specified that I would prioritize separated lanes,
route connections and commuter routes when doing so.
Reduce Legal Delays in Bike Lane Construction.
The biggest delay in bike lane construction is the length of mandatory environmental
assessments (EAs). To accelerate construction, I would use pilot projects, tender EA
work up front in bulk and try other techniques used elsewhere to speed up the EA
process. Ill also lobby Queens Park for stronger green assessment rules to allow for
faster EAs for projects like bike lanes where environmental benefits are obvious.
$3M Per Year to Make Unsafe Bike Accident Hotspots Safer.
$3m will be added to the capital budget every year to finance site-specific
improvements to Torontos 100 most unsafe points for cycle traffic, with site
prioritization to be determined through the use of accident data, open data research
and cyclist/driver surveys.
Better Parking Opportunities for Cyclists.
Using the zoning process and other policy tools, I will also increase the availability of
secure bike racks for new and existing condo towers, where many of Torontos newest
cyclists are beginning and ending their commuting day. Bike lane budgets for new lanes
will include provision for expanded bike parking along each new route.


IMPROVED TRAFFIC AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
Better signalling and traffic management has achieved significant results in other cities,
reducing congestion at key intersections. The University of Torontos MARLIN project is a local
leader in traffic management experimentation. I support efforts to launch a pilot project
partnered with MARLIN within three years of the election.
Another key aspect of traffic management is construction management. For too many years,
construction season means chaos as nearly-random outbursts of construction work appear
across the Toronto landscape.
Part of the challenge is that Toronto is behind other cities and behind the public sector in the
use of alternative bid policies, construction management policies and other incentives. These
policy tools can help to modernize construction to get faster results, especially when its the
City of Toronto buying repair or maintenance services from contractors.

I would hire a construction industry veteran as a policy
advisor directly into the Mayors Office to help Council
develop best practices to increase construction speed
and prevent cost overruns.

As early as January 26
th
, in a speech to the Board of Trade, I announced that I would hire a
construction industry veteran as a policy advisor directly into the Mayors Office to help
Council develop best practices to increase construction speed and prevent cost overruns.
I would also promote new partnerships with the Ontario Construction Secretariat with the same
goal. I support existing proposals like the proposal tabled at Councils last meeting this year
to limit or license the use of public streets for construction or construction staging.
Finally, I will ensure that construction schedule and bid information is released as an open
dataset so that volunteers and partners can build a big board to help every Torontonian who
cares to better map, plan and anticipate construction conflicts, both inside and outside City
Hall.


INCREASING USE OF HIGH-OCCUPANCY VEHICLE LANES
HOV lanes or high occupancy vehicle lanes exist to try to reduce the number of cars on
the road by dedicating a lane for carpoolers and multi-passenger vehicles. If an HOV lane is
doing its job in a particular corridor, more people will choose to take on passengers or carpool
to take advantage of the lighter traffic, reducing overall congestion and emissions per
commuter. HOV lanes are also open for buses, giving transit riders a speed advantage over
single-car drivers gridlocked on the freeway.
At the moment, theres a longstanding gap between the Citys bylaws and the Provincial
Highway Traffic Act for HOV lanes within Toronto.
Under current regulations, passenger vehicles can use City of Toronto HOV lanes like those
on Eglinton East - in rush hour if they have a driver and two (2) passengers. Drivers can use
provincial highway HOV lanes specifically on the 404 - if they have a driver and one (1)
passenger.
When Im elected, Ill ask Council to finally match Torontos rule to the Ontario rule, so that you
only need one passenger to use the lane. Two benefits would come from the change.
First, the easier HOV rule will make it more likely that people will carpool.
Second, the growing number of rideshare services is based on one-passenger commutes, and
rideshare/carshare costumers are more likely to reduce car use overall since many dont own a
car as a result so we should harmonize the policy to incent rideshare growth on key
commuter thoroughfares.
Finally, harmonization will also be a small step toward transportation sanity, as we need better
coordination between Toronto, regional and provincial transportation policies on many key
issues.


CARSHARE AND RIDESHARE GROWTH
Innovation matters. One of the most important emerging innovations in commuting is the
evolution of new business models for car use and car ownership. Examples include Uber (an
alternative to conventional taxi and limo booking systems), Lyft (a pay-for-rideshare company)
or carshare programs like Zipcar, AutoShare and Car2Go. All of these services are bumping up
against regulations designed for the service models of the last century.
I believe it is in the public interest to open up the market for these for-profit and non-profit
services, as they offer three socially useful functions in the fight against gridlock. First, they
reduce the demand for parking, both at home and at outbound destinations. Second, by
offering habitual drivers a chance to give up on their cars without giving up on occasional
driving, these services help to reduce congestion. Further, services that use energy-efficient
vehicles also reduce emissions.
When elected Mayor, I will ask Councils new Transportation Committee to open Toronto up for
these business models. For example, I support policy changes to allow for onstreet carshare
parking outside the downtown core. I also support changes to allow greater competition in the
rideshare and hired-car service markets generally.

ROUNDABOUTS
More and more, other North American cities are using roundabouts as an effective traffic
management tool.
I will ask the City Public Service to actively promote the increased use of roundabouts in new
developments and at selected targeted areas to further improve traffic flow.


SPECIFIC ROADS, SPECIFIC FIXES
Torontos 20
th
Century roads and freeways are still critical for 21
st
century workers and goods
to get in and out of the core city. I believe we have to be pragmatic when it comes to policies
for these routes.
Early this year, city planners came forward to propose the repair or the removal of the
deteriorating east leg of the Gardiner - but their proposed solutions did not match the data
they provided. All of the options were based on the specific assumption that more transit
would be available in the same area to offset car traffic. This is unlikely to be true for the
foreseeable future, since even high-speed construction of the Commuter Relief Line subway in
the area will take eight to ten years.
Ive considered the issue and I believe the First Gulf proposal to relocate the Gardiner is likely
to be the smartest approach for the medium term, for two reasons. First, relocation will mean
the least disruption to existing traffic during construction. Second, relocation will open up new
land for private development, allowing us to generate new economic activity and new tax
revenue on the developed area.
After consultation with transportation engineers, the TTC, GO and the province, I would
support the creation of a complete, end-to-end High Occupancy Toll / High Occupancy Vehicle
lane on the DVP, funded entirely by electronic tolls paid by single-car drivers using the lane.
Finally, before and after a recent tragedy in the area, I spoke with many local leaders and
representatives about traffic safety in the Leaside East York area while my team canvassed
there. I was convinced by their advice and the accumulated advice of experts who have
reviewed the areas traffic - that the expansion of Redway Road to Bayview is a priority to
reduce unsafe through-traffic nearby.