If you haven’t heard, Toronto is moving forward on a study involving road tolls.
With the estimated $2.5 billion price tag that comes with rebuilding the east end of the much debated Gardiner Expressway, the city has issued a call for a consultant to report on appropriate tolling technologies and ramifications of implementing road pricing on both the Gardiner Expressway and on the Don Valley Parkway (DVP).
Not only would the tolls recover some of the dollars lost to the Gardiner’s pricey facelift, the tolls could potentially reduce congestion and raise money for other infrastructure projects.
But it could also be super annoying, and likely won’t reduce the city’s constantly growing congestion and traffic to levels that will make your commute significantly less swearword-filled than it already is. If you don’t like the idea of dishing out dollars to travel the city’s highways, the good news is that neither does mayor John Tory.
“A broader discussion around new ways of raising revenue will begin in April when the city manager presents his long-term financial plan. Road and congestion pricing will almost certainly be part of that as one item on a long list of possibilities,” said Keerthana Kamalavasan, a spokeswoman to the mayor, according to The Toronto Star. She reiterated that the tolls “would not be his preferred way to pay for road infrastructure.”
The city’s study is expected to take about six months and involve at least eight tolling scenarios. According to a request for proposals, these will include pricing schemes based on a flat rate, a distance-based price, varied fees depending on number of vehicle occupants or vehicle type, and a bulk buy option or monthly pass system. It will also debate the merits of a gantry toll system like the type currently used on the 407, where drivers pay for entering a certain area. The study will include variable pricing options based on the time of day or day of the week.
The toll study will also include financial targets over a 30-year timeline, with the assumption that the tolls wouldn’t be implemented until at least 2024.
The study’s consultants will also examine where the toll points would be located across the full length of both roads. This includes the Gardiner between Highway 427 and Leslie St., and the DVP between Highway 401 and the Gardiner.
The report will come back to council later this year. As for John Tory, he would rather see the city use photo radar as a way to generate revenue and recover some of the Gardiner capital.
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