The Ontario government has published a comprehensive document that is intended to be the basis for understanding and forming a vision for the development of transportation for Toronto and the Greater Golden Horseshoe for the next decades.

The document was published on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 and contains the government’s initial vision of transportation development until 2051.

You can read the entire document here:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/towards-greater-golden-horseshoe-transportation-plan-discussion-paper

The province wants your feedback on the plans, although many of them are in progress or are scheduled to start soon.

The document identifies the main transit projects and explores possible ways to solve the problem of road congestion and easier movement of goods across the region.

From government information, we can learn that traffic congestion is already costing the province’s economy about $ 11 billion a year due to lost productivity in the GTA and Hamilton regions, and the situation is likely to worsen in the coming years if there is no intervention.

The population of the Greater Golden Horseshoe Area is expected to grow by almost 50 percent in the next 30 years, from 10 million people in 2019 to 14.9 million in 2051.

To ease congestion, the Ontario government envisages the implementation of major highway projects, including the GTA West Corridor, as well as the expansion of highways at strategic locations across the region, including Highways 401, 400, 403 and QEW.

Congestion can be further alleviated by managing passenger travel demand, especially during peak hours, through pricing, parking fees, teleworking and flexible working hours.

The provincial plan also includes the implementation of new technologies such as automated and connected vehicles, real-time traffic management for the goods in transit, and demographic changes that will change the way people will want to move.

Some of the new solutions may fundamentally change the transport industry.

While most travel in the region today is by road – whether by car, bus or bike, the roads themselves have not kept pace with the growth.

The government’s plan includes some mass communication projects that are already underway or in planning, such as Ontario Line, Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, Yonge North and Scarborough Subway Extensions and Finch West, Hurontario and Hamilton LRT. But it is also considering a possible “communication loop” that would connect Ontario Line to new major transit hubs, including Pearson Airport and Richmond Hill Center, which would then connect with other regional services.

The government plan also considers exploring the possibility of new east-west interregional connections between Burlington and Oshawa on existing GO rail lines that would not have to pass through Union Station. It also mentions the Sheppard East Subway Extension and the Eglinton Crosstown Extension to Pearson Aiport Airport as near-completion plans under “Phase 2” of Ontario’s GTA Transport Plan.

The province is also trying to establish a provincial and city table that would explore how to better integrate tariffs and services across the region, as it has been done to some extent through the Presto payment system.

The province says its plan will take into account the different needs of both urban and fast-growing suburban areas, as well as rural and Indigenous communities.

The letter acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rethinking of how we use transport infrastructure. The document cites the closure of motorized streets or lanes to make more room for safe walking and cycling, such as in the Toronto ActiveTO program, and says that the transport system of the future should be made to withstand unexpected events, including these that may arise from climate change. The published document does not include cost estimates for this 30-year vision.

The provincial government of Ontario has created a dedicated survey page where anyone can contribute to the plan.
Here you can give your opinion on Ontario’s vision for transport development in the coming decades: https://www.ontario.ca/form/consultation-greater-golden-horseshoe-transportation-plan-discussion-paper

The province will be accepting feedback for the next two months until August 28, and a final plan will be published later this year.

Pic from pixabay.com