Toronto hires ‘traffic czar’ to tackle congestion crisis

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Toronto has hired a man meant to tame — or perhaps become a scapegoat for — the city’s horrendous traffic.

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Andrew Posluns, who’s previously held positions at the Canada Infrastructure Bank and Metrolinx, has been named Toronto’s first chief congestion officer.

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As part of the role, he has also been named executive director of the newly-formed strategic capital coordination office. Posluns will start his new role on Jan. 5.

Posluns’ position was created by order of Toronto City Council earlier this year, and will oversee the city’s congestion management plan, set to be released this spring.

According to Posluns’ LinkedIn profile, he most recently served as senior director of corporate planning, policy and research with the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Prior to that he worked at Metrolinx for four years as a director in the sponsors office and capital projects group, and since 2004 worked in various directorship roles with the Province of Ontario, including Assistant Deputy Minister of High Occupancy Toll Lanes with the MTO.

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Plans to establish an office of strategic capital coordination were made earlier this year, with the goal of coordinating construction-related traffic disruptions, integrating the needs of the TTC into traffic coordination, ensuring projects are planned to minimize traffic disruption, and holding contractors accountable for not following expectations.

Toronto’s traffic costs big

According to a report tabled at the city’s Infrastructure and Environment committee in April, 18% of Toronto’s entire road capacity — or 1,008 km — was closed for construction in July 2024.

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Last year, a report issued by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) and the Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA) described traffic gridlock in the province as a “crisis,” putting the cost of congestion at $56 billion annually.

Just under 80% of that impact, around $44.7 billion, is directly felt in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.

Gridlock is a big cost to Ontario’s economy, amounting to $12.8 billion annually — putting 112,000 jobs at risk due to reduced productivity and stifled job growth, according to the same report.

The study stated GTHA congestion grew 37% since 2001, compared to just 17% in other regions.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume

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