TTC, city vow to be better prepared for, more responsive to extreme weather

Toronto residents are still struggling with snow buildup surrounding bus and streetcar stops as well as TTC delays.

Amid increasing frustrations to get around Toronto on public transit following to back-to-back snowstorms, the TTC has voted in favour of taking steps to be better prepared and more responsive during extreme weather.

Today, Toronto-St. Paul’s Coun. Josh Matlow tabled an emergency motion at the commission’s board meeting calling for improved clearing of snow from open air sections of Line 1 and 2, better standards to make surface stops accessible, and steeper fines for motorists who block TTC vehicles.

TTC Chair Jamaal Myers, who seconded the passed motion, said the goal is a simple one: “Improve service, reduce delays and keep moving safely no matter the weather.”

Matlow, who is also a TTC Commissioner, agreed.

“I don’t believe Torontonians should have to climb a mountain of snow when they are simply trying to get to the TTC stop to get to work or school,” he said.

Matlow’s motion comes more than a week after 50 centimetres of snow blanketed the city.

East-end Coun. Paula Fletcher said there are “many, many” questions about what went wrong with the TTC as well as the city’s ability to manage the snow clean-up.

She said she’s been fielding a range of complaints, including from people who use mobility devices, who are struggling to get around due to unplowed streets and sidewalks and public transit delays.

The Toronto-Danforth rep said these challenges may be attributed to the city’s single-sourced snow contract, which was awarded in 2021 but was investigated by the Auditor General just two years later.

“While we were out of the building so-called under COVID, staff gave away the penalty clause. So, the city is unable to put penalties on contractors for their poor performance is my understanding,” she said.

Coun. Dianne Saxe added that condo corporations should be playing a stronger role in clearing the snow from the city’s sidewalks.

“They haven’t done a darn thing and that’s because the previous council amended the by-law so say anytime there’s more than two centimetres of snow, the commercial property owners don’t have to do anything,” she said.

“I think that’s a terrible mistake.”

Chow says response to major snowstorms ‘not working well’

After surveying the clean-up, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow now believes it’s time to ensure sidewalks get cleared in a timelier way.

“In my personal observation, the number of calls to my office, what I’m hearing from the councillors, what I’m hearing on the street, the people getting hurt, injured, they can’t get out, this is not working well,” she said on Monday.

Chow is promising to release a public letter on Tuesday that will outline the steps being taken to review those contracts and ramp up the cleanup.

Last Wednesday, the city officially began removing snow from main streets with transit routes, hospitals and emergency services stations, and sidewalks and school bus loading zones, as well as roads and bridge decks with limited space for snow storage. This 24/7 effort is expected to last up to three weeks.

As of 10 a.m. today, crews have hauled away 104,592 tonnes (10,444 loads) of snow to five designated storage sites across the city, which amounts to removing snow on 362 kms of roads, 42 kms of bikeways, 288 kms of sidewalks, and 44 kms of bridges.

Toronto said it is also deploying crews to inspect and clear catch basins in low-lying areas ahead of this week’s warmer temperatures.

“[Our] snow removal operations, which are taking place across the city, will also help reduce the volume of snow that could melt and contribute to flooding,” the city said in its latest snow removal update.

The last time snow removal of this scale was required in Toronto was in January 2022, however since then the city has enhanced its snow removal operations with more capacity for in-house hand crews (using handheld equipment) as well as additional snow removal equipment, advance public communications and updated bylaws regarding Major Snowstorm Condition and Significant Weather Event declarations.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Beth Macdonell