A new study finds that travel times on the Gardiner Expressway, a major transportation corridor carrying approximately 140,000 vehicles daily, have increased by up to 250 percent in westbound lanes during the morning rush hour and up to 230 percent in eastbound lanes during the afternoon rush hour as a result of the route's most recent construction projects.
The study was conducted by Geotab ITS, an Oakville-based company that uses data and AI to track commercial vehicles and help companies manage their fleets. The analysis found that since construction began on March 25, average travel times from the Humber River to Strachan Street have increased from eight to 20 minutes, while average travel times in the five-kilometre stretch between Jarvis Street and Dufferin Street have increased from 11 to 25 minutes.
Commercial vehicle drivers aren't doing any better either, with the average number of hours driven per day increasing by 80% compared to pre-construction. Increased travel times are also impacting business productivity, with studies showing that increased driving times are putting pressure on last-mile delivery companies in particular.
“The Toronto Regional Chamber of Commerce reports that traffic congestion costs the city more than $11 billion in lost productivity each year, impacting trade and productivity,” Geotab noted in a news release. “By 2023, annual business trips in downtown Toronto will reach 19 million and miles traveled reach 151 million.”
More drivers are trying to access secondary roads, but are also encountering issues there: The top three roads most affected by commercial traffic congestion, with an average increase of 43%, are Harbor Street (72% increase in travel time), Lakeshore Boulevard (30% increase in travel time) and Cherry Street (27% increase in travel time).
Vehicle emissions also increased due to longer driving times in Gardiner. The increased driving time led to a 23% increase in emissions, resulting in 1,200 kg of CO2 being emitted daily from the vehicles studied, which is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions of a premium round-trip flight from Toronto to Vancouver.
Geotab also found that commercial vehicle idling time increased by 26 percent and traffic traveling below 25 km/h doubled.
For the study, Geotab tracked more than 10,000 commercial vehicles that traveled on the Gardiner Expressway for approximately two months prior to and two months after the lane closures began on March 25.
The lane closures are in place as the 60-year-old corridor undergoes significant upgrades as part of the City of Toronto's Gardiner Expressway Strategic Upgrade Plan. The closures will remain in place until the project is completed in mid-2027, with a brief reopening during the FIFA World Cup from May to the end of July 2026.
With the summer construction season underway and construction on the Ontario Line and parts of the Gardiner being reduced to two lanes, Toronto could be sitting on a traffic time bomb that could make for the worst summer commute ever. If you want to avoid the crowds, consider walking or biking. Toronto is installing a ton of new bike lanes and paths.
