Taking Action to Improve Toronto’s Response to Major Snow Incidents
Toronto is a winter City. Over this past week, Torontonians endured extreme weather and heavy snowfalls with areas in our city receiving up to 50cm of accumulated snow. When it snows, our sidewalks need to be safe and accessible. The TTC needs to be operational, and our city needs to work.
Under the previous two mayors (Ford and Tory), I was successful in advocating for the expansion of sidewalk snow clearing for every Toronto neighborhood. However, I could not convince them to prioritize extreme weather responses. I wont stop pushing until this is done, and done properly.
After the recent major snowfall, while some patience was reasonably expected given the enormous volume of accumulation, I’ve heard from residents from across Toronto about the poor quality of snow clearing service. Too often, plows will shove back large piles of snow back onto sidewalks that residents had just cleared themselves - leaving many people unable to reach appointments, access public transit, walk their kids to school or safely walk around their neighbourhood. This has been especially impactful to people with disabilities and other mobility challenges.
Toronto’s snow clearing contracts are some of its largest, worth $1.5 billion dollars over the next decade. Taxpayers should feel assured that their money for these vital services are being used efficiently, effectively and with the highest standard of performance. However, I am not convinced that Toronto has the oversight and control it needs with its contractors, and in fact, I was never supportive of the contract Mayor Tory allowed to be hastily approved. We should be exploring bringing some public services in-house.
To address this, I am requesting that the General Manager of Transportation Services report to City Council with:
- A costed list of best practices and technology used in other winter cities in Canada and internationally we could consider adopting in Toronto
- A review of our winter equipment’s state of good repair, and the cost of equipment modernization
- Prioritizing locations such as crosswalks, school zones and transit stops
- What actions the City can take to ensure contractors mitigate adverse impacts including plowing snow onto sidewalks and damage to municipal and private property, along with the viability of bringing winter services in-house to ensure greater oversight and accountability
Over the weekend, transit riders experienced a number of major disruptions to TTC service due to the extreme snow conditions. While some disruptions are to be expected, there are many ways that the TTC can improve its preparedness and ensure it responds effectively to weather incidents. For instance, I heard from many residents about the lack of plowing along major transit stops and the significant hazard this created for transit users. That’s why I am moving a motion requesting the TTC Board to prepare a proactive extreme weather incident preparedness strategy, which includes:
- A plan to support the functioning and steady operation of the system during extreme weather incidents, including on the above-grade portions of lines 1 and 2
- Directing TTC staff to collaborate with Transportation Services to improve snow clearing around TTC surface route stops
- Directing TTC staff to work with Transportation services to review and increase fines for drivers that block TTC surface route operations during snow events
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Fixing Traffic Chaos at the Allan and Eglinton
The residents and businesses along Eglinton Avenue West and in the residential communities surrounding the intersection of Eglinton Avenue West and the Allen Expressway have endured traffic chaos, now into its 14th year of the ongoing Metrolinx Eglinton Crosstown construction boondoggle which is billions of dollars over budget, more than four years late with still no opening in sight.
Tens of thousands of vehicles a day use this intersection to commute to and from work in an extraordinarily unique situation where a major expressway empties out into the middle of our city creating congestion in what is in fact, a regional transportation asset that serves as the on-ramp to the Greater Toronto Area’s entire network of 400 series highways for commuters from Brampton, Mississauga, Vaughan and beyond.
This intolerable congestion has also resulted in unprecedented traffic infiltration on local residential streets as these thousands of daily commuters seek short cuts from Eglinton Avenue or are being directed by Waze and Google Maps. The result has been dozens of drivers queued up on the local roads experiencing road rage and engaging in dangerous behaviors putting pedestrians and cyclists at risk as evidenced by the increased number of accidents.
Furthermore, tens of thousands of desperately needed new homes and jobs will be created over the next 25 years in the Allen corridor at Downsview, Yorkdale, Lawrence Heights, the Glencairn study area and into the 905 regions.
That's why, alongside my colleague Mike Colle, I moved a motion that looks to address the root causes of traffic chaos. The motion directs Transportation Services to expedite the study of options to redesign the intersection which continues to be the main bottleneck and source of traffic congestion now that the Crosstown surface construction is complete, and the operation of the intersection has been handed back over to the City after more than a dozen years of Metrolinx control.
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Eglinton LRT: Still Nowhere in Sight!
Doug Ford says he know how to get things done. But the Eglinton LRT has been delayed for years, is over budget, while businesses and residents have been treated like collateral damage. Please join me in calling for a public inquiry to demand transparency, accountability, and to actually get transit projects built in Toronto. As a part of this provincial election, I am calling on all provincial candidates to support real transparency and accountability for Metrolinx and the Ford government so that the failures are not repeated in future transit expansions like the Ontario Line and Scarborough Subway extension.
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The City’s Budget and Fighting Trump’s Tariffs
The “strong mayor” powers recently imposed on Toronto by Doug Ford have drastically altered the City’s budget process. Previously, property tax increases were voted on by Council separately from service and infrastructure investments, and it was "Council's budget". Now, due to the strong mayor powers, it has become “the Mayor’s budget” – where essential service investments on roads, transit, and housing are delivered by the mayor – and Council no longer is able to vote on the budget itself. This "Strong Mayor" power was a decision by Premier Ford that I believe is fundamentally wrong. While there are some aspect’s of the mayor’s budget that I support such as investing in the TTC, affordable housing, and libraries, I am not happy about the inability to vote on these service improvements separately from the tax rate.
We are undoubtedly living in unprecedented times. The cost of living has been persistently high, with too many Torontonians struggling to afford basic necessities like food and housing. With the imminent threats of U.S. tariffs, Canada faces the real risk of having prices for basic goods rise even further.
During times of uncertainty, it’s critical to be strategic, thoughtful, and purposeful. That’s how I want Toronto to respond to Trump’s reckless threats, to ensure that we have a robust plan meaningfully support our economic sectors and residents who will be most affected.
That’s why I moved a motion that will protect for a “tariff reserve fund” to allow the City to provide future strategic investments and supports to both businesses and residents who would be most affected. I know it is critical that the City provide financial relief to those who need it most, ensure that every tax dollar is spent thoughtfully and invest in the services and infrastructure people rely on.
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