How Germany dealt with their Gardiner expressway

[gabe]

Where are people commuting that it's faster to take the car than GO? Surely not downtown.

They are commuting to the GTA. Not everyone works downtown.

 

[Undead]

Thousands of people cannot work from home. Commuting sucks by car, but usually it's still faster and better than taking the TTC or GO transit. I say this as someone who doesn't have a car. Our transit sucks compared to Germany

IIRC, 70% of people in the workforce are office employees. Every single one of those jobs can be done entirely from home. There's your congestion solved for people who genuinely need to drive.

 

[gabe]

IIRC, 70% of people in the workforce are office employees. Every single one of those jobs can be done entirely from home. There's your congestion solved for people who genuinely need to drive.

Also making public transit safe and more enjoyable will help. But our public transit is an insane asylum on wheels/rails. Nobody will give up driving to be stuffed in a bus or train with crazy people. I take public transit everyday. i can understand why people drive. I could write a long book about the insanity i have witnessed on the TTC .

Anyone shocked by this, hasn't been on the TTC in the last 2 years.

Here's what to do if you encounter someone smoking crack on the TTC

You don't have to look around too hard to witness evidence of the ongoing addiction and mental health crisis in Toronto, and sometimes all it takes...

www.blogto.com

 

[Fresco]

Also making public transit safe and more enjoyable will help. But our public transit is an insane asylum on wheels/rails. Nobody will give up driving to be stuffed in a bus or train with crazy people. I take public transit everyday. i can understand why people drive. I could write a long book about the insanity i have witnessed on the TTC .

Anyone shocked by this, hasn't been on the TTC in the last 2 years.

Here's what to do if you encounter someone smoking crack on the TTC

You don't have to look around too hard to witness evidence of the ongoing addiction and mental health crisis in Toronto, and sometimes all it takes...

www.blogto.com

Hard drugs have essentially been decriminalized in Toronto by police, they dont arrest junkies anymore.
The guy could at least be considerate and blow has crack smoke away from other passengers

 

[wopchop]

Thank god I live downtown. I would hate to have to commute to Mississauga or Oakville every day

Toronto reaches new level of gridlock as drivers forced to sit in traffic for 3 hours at a time

Getting around downtown Toronto by car has never been easy. Heck, getting around at all by any mode of transportation can be a nightmare, even on t...

www.blogto.com

The commute in the morning to downtown isn't so bad - much better than it was 3 years ago IMO.
Getting to the Gardner and out to the west is horrendous, though. Worse than before, I think. If you don't leave downtown before 3pm, you are toast.

 

[afransen]

IIRC, 70% of people in the workforce are office employees. Every single one of those jobs can be done entirely from home. There's your congestion solved for people who genuinely need to drive.

I find this hard to believe. I'd say max 50% of the workforce is office based, on some office jobs would legitimately require being on-site.

 

[Admiral Beez]

IIRC, 70% of people in the workforce are office employees.

Let’s start with the premise, IIRC. Where do you believe you recall this from?

 

[Undead]

I find this hard to believe. I'd say max 50% of the workforce is office based, on some office jobs would legitimately require being on-site.

I'll dig for a source, but given how empty the roads were during peak covid periods, it's probably higher than 50.

Where do you believe you recall this from?

Hopefully my mind isn't going yet. I'll look for the source.

 

[afransen]

I'll dig for a source, but given how empty the roads were during peak covid periods, it's probably higher than 50.

During peak COVID, a lot of people were just laid off. Retail workers, restaurants, hair stylists, etc.

 

[Northern Light]

I'll dig for a source, but given how empty the roads were during peak covid periods, it's probably higher than 50.


Hopefully my mind isn't going yet. I'll look for the source.

According to this site https://madeinca.ca/working-from-home-canada-statistics/ (attributed to Stats. Can.):

A further interesting note, however, about how much 'virtual' work people can handle, this from KPMG:

 

[Undead]

Of course agricultural, industrial, etc work can't be done remotely. I've never claimed such in any of my posts.

I'm trying to locate the source, if there is one. I've contacted a few labour and research orgs and posted in various forums. If my memory serves, I'll accept the revised figure.

But it's abundantly clear we already have the means to eliminate rush traffic congestion without spending a single penny on new roads or transit (we should continue building transit regardless).

The issue, as I see it, is not one of money or technical resources. It's all "between the ears"--that is, cultural/psychological and political.

Our cultural hang-ups don't allow us to see there's already better ways of doing things.

During peak COVID, a lot of people were just laid off. Retail workers, restaurants, hair stylists, etc.

Wasn't it mostly "low end" jobs? People working those jobs weren't driving to begin with.

 

[Undead]

@Northern Light @Admiral Beez @afransen @gabe

I may have been talking out of my wazoo. Wouldn't be the first time

Out of the several sources I contacted, the AFL-CIO responded to say that about 28% of the employed U.S. population are office workers. This does not include occupations in wholesale, retail, transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, and a few other industries. So bump a few more percent perhaps. Still seems low given how empty the roads and transit were during peak WFH periods.

I contacted a few Canadian labour organizations as well, though I imagine the proportions aren't too different between our economies.