Item - 2026.IE28.1

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council amend City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 743, Streets and Sidewalks, Use of, to provide clarity and improve compliance with respect to Road Disruption Activity Reporting System applications, fees, inspections, and enforcement, and to add an exemption from certain fees for street events, consistent with the amendments described in the report (March 20, 2026) from the Chief Congestion Officer and Executive Director, Strategic Capital Coordination Office, and the General Manager, Transportation Services, and detailed in Attachment 3A: Proposed Changes to Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 743 and Attachment 3B: Proposed Draft Amendments to Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 743 to the report (March 20, 2026) from the Chief Congestion Officer and Executive Director, Strategic Capital Coordination Office, and the General Manager, Transportation Services, and direct the City Solicitor to prepare and submit the necessary bill directly to the next meeting of City Council.

2. City Council,

a. Adopt the Eligible Affordable and Rent-Controlled Housing Project Road Disruption Activity Reporting System Fee Policy, attached as Attachment 3C: Proposed Eligible Affordable and Rent-Controlled Housing Project Road Disruption Activity Reporting System Fee Policy (the “Road Disruption Activity Reporting System Fee Policy”) to the report (March 20, 2026) from the Chief Congestion Officer and Executive Director, Strategic Capital Coordination Office, and the General Manager, Transportation Services, to exempt residential development projects containing eligible affordable and rent-controlled housing units approved under the City’s Rental Housing Supply Program and Toronto Builds Policy Framework from the Road Disruption Activity Reporting System application fee and reduce applicable Traffic Management Recovery Fees in accordance with the Road Disruption Activity Reporting System Fee Policy, and that such policy come into force sixty (60) days from Council approval;

b. Direct the City Solicitor to prepare and submit the necessary bills required to amend Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 743, Streets and Sidewalks, Use of consistent with the amendments described in Attachment 3A: Proposed Changes to Chapter 743 to the report (March 20, 2026) from the Chief Congestion Officer and Executive Director, Strategic Capital Coordination Office, and the General Manager, Transportation Services, and detailed in Attachment 3B: Proposed Draft Amendments to Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 743 to the report (March 20, 2026) from the Chief Congestion Officer and Executive Director, Strategic Capital Coordination Office, and the General Manager, Transportation Services, to the next meeting of City Council, and that such bill amendments come into force sixty (60) days from Council approval.  

3. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, and the Executive Director, Housing Development Office, jointly and severally, to negotiate and enter into, on behalf of the City, municipal housing project facility agreements, including any necessary amendments, to secure the financial assistance referenced in Part 2 above for the affordable housing to be developed and operated, on such terms and conditions satisfactory to the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, and / or Executive Director, Housing Development Office, and in a form approved by the City Solicitor.

4. City Council request the Toronto Transit Commission Board to report on the resources required to accelerate the installation of Enhanced Transit Signal Priority through the 2027 Budget Process.

5. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services to report on the resources required to accelerate the installation of Enhanced Transit Signal Priority through the 2027 Budget Process.

6. City Council request the Ontario Minister of Transportation to take action based on the following recommendations raised in the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s report "Breaking Gridlock: Finishing the Job through Provincial Action" to address traffic congestion in the City of Toronto:
 

a. Amend Provincial legislation to enable the City to make use of automated enforcement tools to enhance enforcement of traffic by-laws for offences such as blocking intersections, parking violations, bike lane violations, transit lane violations, and similar infractions that contribute to increased traffic congestion;
 

b. Reduce the impact of lane closures on City streets and enhance the coordination of construction by directing Provincial agencies to participate in, and comply with, all City-led processes that manage access to the City’s right-of-way;

c. Ensure the scope of any studies or planning associated with increasing 400 series highway capacity take into account the full cost of traffic congestion, including impacts on the City’s street and transit networks;

d. Support the growth of transit and mobility in the City and in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area region, building on capital investment by contributing to state-of-good-repair;

e. Support the City financially with the rollout of a comprehensive smart signal system;

f. Partner with the City, and potentially other municipalities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area region, in the development of a digital twin of the transportation network to support collaborative and coordinated traffic management; and

g. Direct Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) staff to work with the City of Toronto’s Chief Congestion Officer in a collaborative manner to advance the objectives related to congestion management including those outlined in the Congestion Management Report update.

The Chief Congestion Officer and Executive Director, Strategic Capital Coordination Office, gave a presentation on Congestion Management Plan - 2026 Spring Update.

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

1. Directed the Chief Congestion Officer and Executive Director, Strategic Capital Coordination Office, to report directly to to the April 22, 23, and 24 City Council meeting with recommendations to improve public and research access to congestion-related data such as signal timings.

2. Requested the Chief Congestion Officer and Executive Director, Strategic Capital Coordination Office, to report directly to the April 22, 23 and 24, 2026 meeting of City Council with the following supplementary information:

a. the daily number of cars displaced by the long term closure of Queen and Yonge for the construction of Ontario Line;

b. other intersections and other street closures that are lasting more than a year; and

c. the number of streetcar routes impacted by the closure of Queen and Yonge and if there is any impact on streets that these routes have moved onto.

Managing congestion is a top priority for the City of Toronto (the “City”). Like many large and thriving urban centres, Toronto experiences congestion as demand for road space exceeds available capacity. In Toronto, this challenge has been exacerbated by a history of car-oriented land use planning; transit expansion that has not kept pace with growth; extensive state-of-good-repair and growth-related capital work; rapid population growth; and a substantial increase in development activity. Since 2013, the City has maintained a Congestion Management Plan, under which it has advanced measures to reduce and manage congestion.

In 2025 City Council approved the creation of Toronto’s first Chief Congestion Officer. This new senior role has a mandate to reduce and mitigate congestion in the city by providing strategic advice and guidance to the City’s senior leadership, Mayor and City Council, working across divisions to coordinate city actions, and engaging as the primary liaison with external partners on congestion-related matters. The Chief Congestion Officer commenced duties on January 5, 2026.

This report provides the initial observations of the Chief Congestion Officer in relation to the management of congestion. It also outlines the early actions of the Chief Congestion Officer in the role, areas identified for further work and the approach envisioned by the Chief Congestion Officer to deliver long-term congestion management in the city. The approach identifies four streams for focus: policy and planning, capital investment, operations, and internal City processes.

This broader approach to managing congestion will require a more robust and holistic Performance Measurement Framework. The Chief Congestion Officer in collaboration with other City divisions and agencies will develop and implement a robust new Performance Measurement Framework, including several key performance indicators. This Performance Measurement Framework will be aligned with the City’s objectives for managing congestion, and strive to capture the impact of current and future initiatives and external factors, in a transparent, consistent, and data-driven manner. This will help ensure that investments and operational initiatives to manage congestion deliver tangible benefits for the public and advance core objectives around congestion management.

This report also provides a Spring 2026 update on initiatives detailed in previous Congestion Management Plans, including ongoing efforts to expand successful programs, strategically upgrade infrastructure, and implement new data-driven technologies.

Since 2013, successive Congestion Management Plans have advanced several key operational and tactical measures to reduce the impact of the various pressures on the transportation network. These measures are having a positive impact, as demonstrated by improvements to the City’s Travel Time Index, implementation of the Road Disruption Activity Reporting System leading to a reduction of average road occupancy duration, and faster transit travel times as a result of signal priority on Lines 5 and 6. Other positive outcomes are associated with increased Traffic Agent presence, and expansion of Smart Traffic Signals and Intelligent Intersections infrastructure.  

Five key tactical pillars underpin the multi-year Congestion Management Plan (2026-2028) outlined in this report:

- Pillar 1: Reduce the Impact of Construction;

- Pillar 2: Expand Traffic Management;

- Pillar 3: Improve Surface Transit;

- Pillar 4: Use AI and Smart Technologies; and

- Pillar 5: Shift How People Travel.

As part of Pillar 1, Transportation Services proposes updates to Chapter 743 of the Toronto Municipal Code which will support enhancements to managing the impact of construction encroachments in the public right-of-way. These Chapter 743 updates include structural changes and additions to enhance clarity and better reflect the current regulatory process related to the intake and review of applications, requests for modifications, and inspections; they also refine the Road Disruption Activity Reporting System system by strengthening enforcement tools, clarifying fees, and adding a close-out process. Finally, the report proposes exemptions and / or a proportional reduction of certain Road Disruption Activity Reporting System fees for street events and for residential development projects with eligible affordable and rent-controlled housing.

In response to Council direction (2025.MM35.15), and aligned with efforts under Pillar 3, Transportation Services has reviewed the existing Transit Signal Priority program and has begun implementing measures under an Enhanced Transit Signal Priority policy along the two new Light Rail Transit corridors and the Spadina streetcar route. This includes working with the Chief Congestion Officer on a plan to accelerate implementation of Enhanced Transit Signal Priority measures at current and new Transit Signal Priority locations in 2026 and beyond.

Implementation of this Congestion Management Plan requires a $299.4 million total investment between 2026 to 2028. The recently approved Transportation Services 2026 Budget includes the funding and resources to deliver the initiatives described in this report (see Appendix 4 for more details).

The report is jointly delivered by the Chief Congestion Officer and Transportation Services.