Torontos traffic congestion plan working: Mayor Olivia Chow [Video]

Mayor Olivia Chow said Thursday that new data show Toronto’s congestion management plan is working to reduce gridlock, with recent travel times for drivers and transit riders showing improvement in some of the most congested parts of the downtown core.

“We do know that the economic impact of congestion – $11 billion a year – is severe, which is why we’ve been working relentlessly and tirelessly to improve the traffic and find ways to get people moving faster,” Chow said at a news conference at the busy intersection of Front Street and Spadina Avenue Thursday.

Trumpeting faster recent travel times on Spadina Avenue, the Gardiner Expressway and King Street – all routes which have sparked the ire of transit riders and motorists recently – Chow said the city’s efforts to manage congestion “are working.”

She said the “secret weapon” has been traffic agents and the city is looking to hire …