Toronto's gridlock is actually getting better

Believe it or believe it not, statistics show that the horrendous traffic in Toronto's downtown is actually getting better.

A measurement called the Traffic Time Index (TTI), used by many cities around the world, compares rush hour traffic times to times when traffic is flowing freely. A TTI of 2.0, for example, indicates that traffic takes twice as long in rush hour as when there's little or no traffic.

This July, Toronto's city-wide TTI came in at 1.587, using navigation data from an arms-length third party. In July of 2025, this figure was 1.698, in July 2024 it was 1.738. If we were to go back to June 2018, Toronto's TTI was an embarrassing 2.324. 

It's unclear to me how this metric differs from that used in its global statistics by Tom Tom, which has Toronto with a traffic idex of 47.7% (equivalent to a TTI of 1.477), significantly better than many American, British and European cities, and a world away from Mexico City's 75.9% congestion. But Tom Tom too has Toronto's congestion as improving, as does INRIX's rankings.

Construction is the biggest single contributor to gridlock in Toronto. In July 2024, a huge 18% of Toronto's road capacity was closed for construction. More recent figures are not available, but presumably it has gone down, even if it doesn't feel look it on the ground.

So, by these metrics, Toronto's traffic is not great but not that bad. Importantly, it's improving annually. So, Mayor Olivia Chow, currently standing for re-election, can justifiably claim that measures like increasing traffic agents at major intersections, reducing construction closures, and adjusting traffic signal priorities, are all having a positive effect, even if it doesn't really feel like it in practice.

Traffic and gridlock has emerged as a top issue with voters in the current mayoral race. This report is well-timed to give Ms. Chow a boost.