Transportation & Infrastructure Committee

Thinking Big: A Recap of our Transportation, Infrastructure and Land Use Committee Discussion 

On Tuesday, the Board’s Transportation, Infrastructure and Land Use Committee met to discuss congestion, fare & service integration, and housing. The committee received updates on the launch of the Congestion Task Force, which was covered in 42 individual media outlets, including CP24, CBC, BNN, Toronto Star, and Global News. From this response it’s clear that congestion is top of mind for Toronto, and we can expect to have our voice heard.

The committee had a vigorous discussion on transit fare and service integration, applauding the enormous strides made by government for fare integration and highlighting next steps for service integration. Best practices such as mobility-as-a-service, carpooling incentives, private sector transport, employer-led incentives, small-scale cross-agency integration were also discussed. A committee member from a major downtown employer highlighted that safety and more importantly reliability were cited as major concerns from employees that were surveyed on impediments to their return to office. The committee also discussed private-public partnership opportunities for transit and potential challenges to overcome.

The Board will soon be launching a report on the cost of transit infrastructure, in partnership with Deloitte. The committee discussed some of the root causes of project “failure” to deliver on time and on budget, explored broader global trends impacting the infrastructure industry and, principles of best practices that can be applied to both current and future projects. The report will focus on reducing costs through adopting best practices for construction and design, continuing to fine-tune oversight, improving public support; and creating a competitive ecosystem through consistency.

In advance of the upcoming federal and provincial budgets, the committee discussed housing affordability and the urgent need for more housing of all types. Starting with the More Homes, More Choice Act in 2019 and more recently the More Homes Built Faster Act, a wide range of policy and regulatory changes are being proposed and implemented to cut red tape and make it easier to achieve the province’s goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2032. The committee considered opportunities and challenges, as well as provided guidance for our proposed Housing Report Card, set to be released in November in conjunction with our Housing Symposium.

The committee's expertise and guidance are invaluable in shaping our policy agenda and advancing the livability, growth, and competitiveness of the Toronto Region.