A new report says there are still many options for governments to consider in trying to reduce congestion, other than road tolls.
CAA and the Conference Board of Canada say that in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area, revenues from drivers already add up to more than 100 per cent of total road costs.
Their report lists examples of ways we can smooth out our commute without paying more.
One example is highway ramp metering. which is rare in the GTA but can be found at Hurontario St and the QEW. During peak hours, a light allows only one car to enter a highway at a time. Even though you're held back a bit when getting on the highway, it's supposed to help with traffic flow.
The report also says Toronto can still do better in the coordination of traffic lights, and there is still the option of reversable lanes during peak hours (like on Jarvis), even changing speed limits throughout the day to stabilize traffic flow.
"What we're trying to say is there's still a lot of options to be explored before we jump to what we always jump to, and what the conversation gets stuck on, which is congestion fees or road pricing," says Terece Di Felice with CAA.
The report says that if governments are going to resort to road tolls, they have to be explicit in who pays, who benefits, and by how much.