Latest news with #MattiSiemiatycki
CTV News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Toronto is closer to hiring a traffic czar. Here is what experts say their first task should be
Heavy traffic leaves the downtown core in Toronto on Thursday January 14, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn Toronto's long-awaited traffic czar may soon be on the job, but experts say clearing up the city's notorious gridlock will require more than a new title. A spokesperson for the City of Toronto tells CTV News Toronto that council is expected to vote this week on final approval for the new position of Chief Congestion Officer, a role aimed at coordinating construction and traffic management across city divisions. Recruitment for the post is already underway, the city confirmed. 'The City of Toronto's new Chief Congestion Officer position will focus on creative, long-term solutions to tackle traffic congestion and will pre-emptively identify challenges and recommend solutions to get Toronto moving,' said Will Johnston, Deputy City Manager for Infrastructure Services. Construction, Johnston said, remains the largest driver of gridlock and will be a key focus for the incoming czar. But experts warn that unless the city's new traffic boss is given meaningful authority, very little will change. Construction jobs 'should be scrutinized,' expert says Matti Siemiatycki, director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto, said addressing the city's often uncoordinated construction work should be the first priority. Off-duty City of Toronto police officers Off-duty City of Toronto police officers manage traffic in a construction zone in Toronto on Monday, May 11, 2015. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette) 'I think fixing the bottlenecks that are happening by our own making is probably the first place to start,' he said. Toronto has been called the busiest city in North America for road construction. A city report found that last summer, nearly one-quarter of city streets were partially closed due to construction, doubling travel times. 'Every job that's going to take up a lane of traffic should be scrutinized to understand how it can be made faster,' Siemiatycki said. Zero tolerance approach In 2024, navigation and location technology company TomTom ranked Toronto third on its list of the most congested cities in the world, placing the city behind just London and Dublin. The region's crippling gridlock, meanwhile, has had a significant effect on the wider economy, with one report prepared by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis warning that the cost of lost economic opportunities in the GTHA totalled $10 billion in 2024 but rose to more than $47 billion when factoring in 'social impacts' that diminish a commuter's quality of life. Some experts, including U of T professor Baher Abdulhai, argue that the situation has worsened to the point that the city should consider lane rental fees — directly charging contractors for occupying lanes. In an email to CTV News, he says this could incentivize faster project completion. Others suggest the need for more night work and penalties for extended closures. 'The most urgent task is to use the existing roads much more efficiently,' Abdulhai said. While construction coordination may offer quick wins, experts caution that Toronto's congestion is not just a driver problem. 'When you hear congestion, it's not just cars,' said Siemiatycki. 'It's the transit vehicles and others stuck in that exact same mess.' TTC bus in traffic TTC bus in traffic Enforcing existing traffic laws, particularly against drivers who block intersections and lanes, is another immediate step Abdulhai recommends. He supports a 'zero-tolerance' approach to effectively ease bottlenecks. Could the traffic czar have actual power? For the incoming traffic czar to succeed, Siemiatycki stressed that the city must avoid creating another bureaucratic position with minimal power. 'If it's just another person that decisions have to go through, then it will not be effective,' he said. Toronto's experience with a 'transit czar,' introduced in 2019, did little to streamline transit project decisions, he noted. Abdulhai echoed that concern. 'This one person will not work alone. He or she will be the spearhead, but a larger team must be involved. And if enabled and authorized by council, they can be effective,' he said. The city says the role will report directly to the Deputy City Manager and carry oversight of the Strategic Capital Coordination Office, responsible for coordinating capital projects and traffic mitigation across departments. Road tolls: 'if you charge... people will respond' Both experts point to a politically sensitive solution that could help ease gridlock — that's congestion pricing. 'If you wanted to address congestion in a serious way… we have to be talking about road tolls,' Siemiatycki said, noting similar measures have reduced traffic in cities like London, Stockholm, and New York. However, while Toronto has floated the idea in years past, the political appetite for fit may be low. In 2017, a proposal to toll the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway was rejected by the provincial government. New Ontario legislation introduced in 2024 now bans tolls on provincial highways. Though Toronto theoretically retains the power to toll its own roads under the City of Toronto Act, experts are skeptical such a measure will move forward without strong mayoral support. Still, Siemiatycki says tough choices will be necessary. 'Cost is a key driver of people's choices,' he said. 'If you charge for something, people will respond.' 'A tough job' If approved by council, the new traffic czar role will launch in the coming months. But as Siemiatycki put it, 'this will be a tough job.' How much difference the role makes may depend less on who the city hires and more on how much power they're given to act.
National Post
24-06-2025
- Business
- National Post
Modern living: Building belonging
Some residents of the new Story of Midtown rental tower were drawn to the 38-storey property by its location, two blocks northeast of Yonge and Eglinton. Others may have prioritized its amenities, like an indoor cycling studio and a rooftop terrace, while lease-signing incentives such as a month's free rent presented another enticement. Article content But anyone belonging to the 2SLGBTQI+ community now has another reason to move in: On May 29, Story of Midtown became the first residential rental building in Canada to receive Rainbow Registered accreditation from the Canadian 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce. Article content Article content As well as denoting the building's adherence to standards that aim to ensure 2SLGBTQI+ residents feel safe, supported and welcome, the designation reflects a broader shift in the increasingly competitive rental market. Beyond location, price and amenities, a new differentiator is emerging: inclusion. And while the term may conjure up images of symbolic gestures — Pride flags in lobbies or diversity-themed marketing — some developers and property managers are working to weave inclusion into their communities' fabric. Article content Article content 'For renters, top priorities will always include rent, location and convenience,' says Matti Siemiatycki, a professor of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. 'But feeling seen, supported and part of a community matters too, especially when property managers back their inclusive language with real policies and action.' Article content Siemiatycki points out that inclusion is increasingly becoming part of the toolkit landlords use to set themselves apart. Beyond perks like free rent or gift cards, inclusion offers a home where residents feel they belong. Article content At Story of Midtown, inclusion is now grounded in standards to which the tower's developer and manager, Hazelview Properties, must adhere. These include providing staff with a paid volunteer day to support community causes, as well as training in 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion, pronoun usage, unconscious bias and inclusive language. According to Jasmin Pirani, Hazelview's partner of marketing and social impact, the company is in the process of evaluating the benefits of Rainbow Registered accreditation as it considers applying it across its portfolio of 200-plus residential buildings, and to the 20,000 new rental homes in its development pipeline. Article content Similar priorities are reflected in the residential communities developed and managed by Tridel, the GTA's largest condo builder. 'Prioritizing inclusion helps shape vibrant, resilient communities where everyone has the opportunity to thrive,' says Samson Fung, senior vice-president of sales and marketing. Inclusion, he says can take various forms: 'Seamless design, where architecture and urban planning don't differentiate between income levels, promotes dignity, equity and a shared sense of belonging in mixed-income communities.'
CTV News
04-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Ontario hospital files $100-million lawsuit claiming shoddy construction, like uneven floors, putting patient safety at risk
In a $100-million lawsuit, Humber River Health claims that recent shoddy construction has left the floors uneven or bubbling in nearly every wing of the hospital, putting the health and safety of patients and staff at risk. The Toronto hospital, which claims to be North America's first fully digital facility, is suing the consortium contracted to build and maintain the facility. The statement of claim, obtained by CTV National News, lists Plenary Health Care Partnerships Humber L.P. as the defendant. The Director of the University of Toronto's Infrastructure Institute, Matti Siemiatycki, believes this is an issue 'every Ontarian should be concerned with. This is (only) a 10-year-old hospital.' Construction on the Humber River Health complex began in 2011 through a public-private partnership with Plenary Health Care Partnerships. The Ontario Government signed Plenary and the consortium to build and maintain the hospital for the next three decades. On its website, Plenary Group is described as a leading independent long-term investor, developer and operator of public infrastructure, with a global presence. In Humber River Health's statement of claim against the consortium, it says that uneven floors have made it 'difficult for staff to move equipment, supplies, food, and patients on wheeled transportation devices. Often, wheeled carts have to be placed behind rubber stoppers to prevent the carts from sliding out of position.' The 'potential root causes' listed in the statement claim include 'installation of the concrete floor slabs by Project Co, and PCL and its subcontractors,' and the 'improper levelling of the concrete floor slabs prior to the installation of finish flooring.' The claim also says that there's 'bubbling and tearing of the rubber flooring in nearly every area of the hospital, including the emergency department, birthing unit, and patient recovery rooms.' Siemiatycki shares that 'the key is that the risks that were supposed to be managed and transferred to the private sector have not resided there, they've ended up boomeranging back and the public is bearing the cost for it.' Among their list of projects, CTV News has learned that Plenary has also been contracted by the Province of Ontario to build, design and operate aspects of a new subway line currently under construction in Toronto. Siemiatycki believes the fact that this is going to litigation shows that there are aspects of the public-private partnership framework that aren't working. 'To see now that this is going to litigation instead of the public-private partnership itself (working this out) is really at the core of this issue. Things do happen in a construction project, that's not abnormal. What is abnormal is this resolution process. A public-private partnership is meant to avoid litigation because there's terms in the contracts that should simply kick-in allowing Ontarians to receive the care they've paid for with their tax dollars and deserve,' says Siemiatycki. Plenary declined CTV News's request for comment today, as did Humber River Health and Ontario's Ministry of Health, saying the matter is before the courts.
