How to actually fix the GTHA’s congestion crisis

Public conversations around urban transportation challenges are stuck. Adam Rosenfield is shifting the focus to more holistic strategies, looking at “vehicle-kilometers-travelled” and how to design for more pleasant ways of getting around our cities.

For years, the public conversation about transportation challenges in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area (GTHA) has been stuck in the same loop: congestion is getting worse, and the solution is to help move cars faster. But this framing has led us down a path of building wider roads, expanding highways, and doubling down on sprawling, car-dependent neighbourhood design — all while congestion stubbornly worsens.   

The truth is, congestion is not solved by car-centred approaches; in fact they set us back from the real opportunities to improve how we get around.   

Measuring total vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) accounts for how much people need to drive. When we reduce how far and how often people need to drive, we make travel easier, more affordable, and significantly cleaner. That’s especially important given the current upward trajectory of carbon emissions from transportation in the GTHA.   

Why congestion metrics miss the point   

Traditional congestion metrics compare travel time at peak periods to “free flow” conditions. This creates two problems:    

• It prioritizes moving cars instead of people, ignoring the efficiency and availability of other modes.   
• It implies that free flow conditions, rather than reduced car trip length or frequency, are the ideal.   

This leads policymakers toward expanding capacity for cars, even though road expansion reliably induces more car travel, competes with spending and space for public transit, and makes roads less safe and enjoyable for walking or cycling. A landmark 2011 study from the University of Toronto documented this long-observed effect in over 200 metropolitan areas, finding that driving distances increase proportionately to roadway lane kilometres built.   

The metric that actually moves us forward   

When we measure VKT rather than congestion, we start to ask different questions:   

• How long are people’s commutes?   
• Are daily destinations close to where people live?   
• Are there viable alternatives like transit, walking, or cycling?   

Focusing on reducing car dependence naturally leads to more holistic strategies:   

• More ways of getting around including transit, walking and cycling options.  
• Shortening commutes through land use planning that brings homes, jobs, schools and parks closer together.  
• Demand management tools like congestion pricing.    

These are also not new ideas. They align with global best practices. Many European cities benefit socially and culturally from providing walkable, transit-oriented, mixed-use communities. Pricing levers like the new congestion charge in Manhattan are having an immediate positive effect on travel and air quality.   

North American jurisdictions are starting to recognize the benefits of a less congestion-centric transportation planning paradigm. Colorado has adopted a groundbreaking transportation planning rule that prioritizes reducing vehicle travel and shifting investments toward options like transit, biking, and walking. California uses vehicle-miles travelled (VMT) as the required metric in environmental review, replacing congestion-based assessments, and Washington sets regional VMT reduction targets to guide long-range planning.     

Looking ahead toward holistic approaches

If the GTHA is to see real progress on congestion, climate goals, and day-to-day affordability, we need to pivot from “How do we move cars faster?” to “How do we become less dependent on long, slow, frequent car trips?”  

TAF is continuing our work to support EV adoption and infrastructure. But in the coming months, TAF will also advance new research, partnerships, and policy recommendations to help governments and institutions meaningfully address the VKT issue, including through better public transit, active transportation, goods movement and supportive land use policies.   

We’re open to your insights and ideas! Stay tuned for upcoming initiatives by subscribing to our monthly newsletter, and reach out to transportation@taf.ca if you’re interested in collaborating.    

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