Toronto city council candidate wants to charge non-local drivers for entering downtown area

Ctvnews.ca
Sept. 9, 2022
Hannah Alberga

A Toronto city council candidate wants to create a congestion fee that would charge non-local drivers entering and exiting the city’s downtown area.

“A congestion fee is not a novel idea,” Rocco Achampong, a lawyer and city council candidate for Spadina-Fort York, told CTV News Toronto.

“Toronto should follow the lead of other world class cities who have already implemented it, are about to implement it, or are considering implementing it: London, Milan, Singapore, New York City, and Vancouver.”

Spadina-Fort York encompasses a large portion of the city’s downtown corridor, including the Financial District, Esplanade, Distillery District, Harbourfront and part of the Gardiner Expressway.

To reduce traffic in the ward, Achampong is promoting a fee for non-residents and non-business owners and workers accessing the ward. People who live and work in the area would be exempt from the fee.

His proposal comes just days after a fellow candidate for the ward announced her plan to build a bridge that would connect Toronto’s Port Lands to the Islands.

While Achampong said the fee for drivers would need to be studied, he pointed to the nearly $23 enforced daily to enter Central London during specific time periods and New York’s proposed $30 fee for motorists during rush hour as examples.

In terms of implementation, Achampong said Highway 407, where electronic sensors track the entry and exit of cars on the roadway, along with the city’s red light and speed cameras that take photos of vehicle licence plates, are just a couple of examples of how the congestion fee could be enforced.

“The potential revenue of a congestion fee for Toronto is significant. In London, the net revenue over approximately a 12 month period in 2021 was 1.2 billion pounds, in a significantly smaller zone than what I anticipate,” he said.

Achampong is proposing this revenue could be applied to create more greenspace, modernize public transit and clean up streets in the ward.

“Apart from the revenue, a congestion fee will ultimately influence motorists’ travel choices,” he said.

“It will reduce pollution, noise, and road casualties. Residents and visitors alike will have more space for walking and cycling. Speed of public transportation will improve. This is the kind of community residents of Spadina-Fort York want.”

Toronto's municipal elections are scheduled to take place on Oct. 24.