March 29, 2010 - The Toronto Board of Trade today released Toronto as a Global City: Scorecard on Prosperity 2010. Although Toronto scores second only to Barcelona in labour attractiveness, traffic congestion is a roadblock to its present and future growth.

The goal of the Scorecard is to measure Toronto’s strengths and weaknesses as a major urban centre competing in the global economy. Among its conclusions, the study notes that “another serious roadblock to the region’s prosperity is congestion in the Toronto area. The Scorecard’s benchmarking work indicates that roughly 70 per cent of Torontonians drive to work and that Toronto is dead last among comparable metros on commuting times – with longer commutes than Los Angeles.

The OECD estimates that traffic congestion in the Toronto region costs Canada over $5 billion per year, pointing the finger at urban sprawl and decades of underinvestment in public transit. The resulting congestion threatens Toronto’s viability over the long-term and serves as an argument for increased investment in public transit and policies that encourage Torontonians to leave their cars behind.”