Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi all, just moved back to Canada after 15 years in NY (in or near NYC). I used to live in Mississauga and commuted via GO, but I was young and my memory is foggy. Now we're in the city and I'm driving around and it's a nightmare. The ravines are nice but they limit the through streets so everyone is packed onto a few main roads trying to get N/S or E/W. There are no other options! Did no one think to built a few more bridges? And the construction! Does this go on year-round? There are crews digging up roads and sidewalks (I won't even get into the mess that is Eglinton) EVERYWHERE. DAILY. NYC traffic is a breeze compared to this.
What's with all the signs saying you can't turn this way or that way during rush hours? I see people ignoring them all the time, and I get that the goal is to keep people off residential streets. But it also exacerbates the problem doesn't it?
We didn't plan to live where we are currently, so I've made getting my kids to school a chore, and we aren't as close to the subway as we'd like. Luckily we are renting and so we can make a better decision in a year. BUT STILL.
If you want to there faster or with less stress if able take the subway or go train. Everything else in between present major stress factors.
I am personally lucky enough to be able to choose my work start times most days and purposely work later so I dont need to deal with traffic. No traffic I can use transit and be home in 45 minutes. Moderate traffic 1 hour... lots of traffic 1.5 hours.
The key to decreasing time wasted in traffic are selecting the best times to travel and the best route.
Perfect example Eglinton in most of the centre of the city AVOID AVOID AVOID unless you can fly !
Hi all, just moved back to Canada after 15 years in NY (in or near NYC). I used to live in Mississauga and commuted via GO, but I was young and my memory is foggy. Now we're in the city and I'm driving around and it's a nightmare. The ravines are nice but they limit the through streets so everyone is packed onto a few main roads trying to get N/S or E/W. There are no other options! Did no one think to built a few more bridges? And the construction! Does this go on year-round? There are crews digging up roads and sidewalks (I won't even get into the mess that is Eglinton) EVERYWHERE. DAILY. NYC traffic is a breeze compared to this.
What's with all the signs saying you can't turn this way or that way during rush hours? I see people ignoring them all the time, and I get that the goal is to keep people off residential streets. But it also exacerbates the problem doesn't it?
We didn't plan to live where we are currently, so I've made getting my kids to school a chore, and we aren't as close to the subway as we'd like. Luckily we are renting and so we can make a better decision in a year. BUT STILL.
Thought the same thing when I moved to Toronto.
Poor planning, should have constructed more expressways many years ago when other
cities were busy building them and cheaper to construct.
Thank god Toronto put in the 401 express and collectors,
too bad the Spadina Expressway was killed back in early 70s.
And yes those beautiful ravines impact traffic flow.
There is too much traffic in Toronto because people are forced to drive to get anywhere as public transit is severely lacking for a city of its size. It was poor planning from the beginning building suburbs with big family homes and gobbling up farmland. They should have built much denser housing and made subway lines and trains a priority instead of expanding freeways and building new subdivisions... totally senseless IMO. Now I am not saying this problem is unique to Toronto but it does impact on the quality of life for residents IMO.
If you want to there faster or with less stress if able take the subway or go train. Everything else in between present major stress factors.
I am personally lucky enough to be able to choose my work start times most days and purposely work later so I dont need to deal with traffic. No traffic I can use transit and be home in 45 minutes. Moderate traffic 1 hour... lots of traffic 1.5 hours.
The key to decreasing time wasted in traffic are selecting the best times to travel and the best route.
Perfect example Eglinton in most of the centre of the city AVOID AVOID AVOID unless you can fly !
School start/end times are not flexible unfortunately.
I'm not working right now since we just moved, but I'm looking, and I'm taking the traffic into consideration. Places I thought I could get to at a certain time I now realize would NEVER happen.
Hi all, just moved back to Canada after 15 years in NY (in or near NYC). I used to live in Mississauga and commuted via GO, but I was young and my memory is foggy. Now we're in the city and I'm driving around and it's a nightmare. The ravines are nice but they limit the through streets so everyone is packed onto a few main roads trying to get N/S or E/W. There are no other options! Did no one think to built a few more bridges? And the construction! Does this go on year-round? There are crews digging up roads and sidewalks (I won't even get into the mess that is Eglinton) EVERYWHERE. DAILY. NYC traffic is a breeze compared to this.
What's with all the signs saying you can't turn this way or that way during rush hours? I see people ignoring them all the time, and I get that the goal is to keep people off residential streets. But it also exacerbates the problem doesn't it?
We didn't plan to live where we are currently, so I've made getting my kids to school a chore, and we aren't as close to the subway as we'd like. Luckily we are renting and so we can make a better decision in a year. BUT STILL.
First rule of thumb traveling around TO in 2017: don't drive.
I moved to TO 3 years ago from Boston, and also made the mistake of relying on a car for my daily commute while living on the far west end of the city (naively thinking it could save me some rent). As it turns out, my daily commute driving into downtown on the Gardner "Express" took almost the same amount of time as sitting on a streetcar. Not to mention expensive car insurance ($250/month). Not to mention parking space rental ($150/month). Not to mention gas ($200/month). Not to mention the additional stress. Not to mention aggressive TO drivers cutting you off every 2 seconds.
I sold my car last year, moved closer to my office (and closer to the subway line), and all of the above problems vanished overnight. Now I pay $141 / month for a transit pass that could get me anywhere in the city with unlimited usage on streetcars, subways, and buses (my employer even subsidizes a portion of that cost - many downtown companies offer some version of transit pass discount). Sometimes I even take the GO train if I need to go somewhere outside the city (which is becoming cheaper starting in January as there will be a 50% discount on GO train fares if you were to transfer from TTC bus, streetcar, or subway). Sure, on some days, I wish i could be sitting in a warm car without all the crowds around me. But looking at the big picture, after ditching my car, my health has improved, my daily commuting times went down, my daily physical activity increased dramatically (walking, taking transit), and my monthly cost of transportation went down (from $250 insurance+$200 gas+$150 parking = $600/month to $141/month via a simple transit pass).
School start/end times are not flexible unfortunately.
I'm not working right now since we just moved, but I'm looking, and I'm taking the traffic into consideration. Places I thought I could get to at a certain time I now realize would NEVER happen.
I know!!! I lived in North West Toronto and went to school down town for 4 years and then worked downtown living in North West Toronto.... trust me I know. It was brutal.
I am really really happy to be living in south Toronto even it is is south east because quick access to the subway line or go train makes a huge differece. Depending on buses just means you have to deal with regular traffic and the discomfort of being packed in to the bus. The subway or go train is usually much smoother sailing.
There is too much traffic in Toronto because people are forced to drive to get anywhere as public transit is severely lacking for a city of its size. It was poor planning from the beginning building suburbs with big family homes and gobbling up farmland. They should have built much denser housing and made subway lines and trains a priority instead of expanding freeways and building new subdivisions... totally senseless IMO. Now I am not saying this problem is unique to Toronto but it does impact on the quality of life for residents IMO.
Yep. We are starting to see a very similar phenomenon in Metro Orlando. Huge suburbs rising up and new highways going all over the place with no real plan to control traffic getting in and out of anywhere.
I miss the ease with which I could get around town in Montreal. Of course, that place has its own mammoth-amount of infrastructure issues as well, but at least the subway/metro covers a pretty large swath for a city its size.
Yep. We are starting to see a very similar phenomenon in Metro Orlando. Huge suburbs rising up and new highways going all over the place with no real plan to control traffic getting in and out of anywhere.
I miss the ease with which I could get around town in Montreal. Of course, that place has its own mammoth-amount of infrastructure issues as well, but at least the subway/metro covers a pretty large swath for a city its size.
To be fair, Toronto is after all the commercial center in Canada, and the largest city and population center in the whole country (7 million in GTA, 9 million in GTAH), so you can always expect a fair amount of sprawl especially in the peripheral parts of the city - especially when there are large swaths of auto manufacturing, supply chain and shipping centers, and many large office parks serving these industries. With that said, after spending several weeks in SoCal on a work trip (Orange County), I can now see that Toronto may be one of the better cities when it comes to urban density and restrictions on suburban sprawl. Toronto city proper has a population of almost 3 million, yet only has 1 major freeway running through the city - the Gardner Expressway - which is a pretty impressive feat considering the amount of freeways other major North American cities boast.
I'm sure Toronto could do better, a lot better, in terms of transit expansion and more densely-developed urban planning (it is on the right track and has a very progressive urban planning board), but it's all relative - compared to Berlin/London Toronto is a typical sprawly NA city, but compared to LA, Atlanta, Houston and other similar-sized U.S. metros, Toronto is urban paradise.
I can't spread more reputation to bostonkid123. But good advice. And I always enjoy the Boston to Toronto perspective
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
!
....
