Toronto makes gridlock-reducing 'quick clear squads' permanent on busiest roadways

A successful two-month pilot program has convinced the City of Toronto to make 'quick clear squads' a permanent fixture during rush hour on Toronto's busiest roadways.

Currently stationed on the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway, 'quick clear squads' were introduced on a trial basis to try and reduce gridlock on roadways that have been notoriously plagued by it at inopportune times. Having these emergency response teams on site to come in and clear away collisions or stalled vehicles when needed has shown that it can cut down obstruction times by anywhere from one to two-and-a-half hours on average—not to mention lessen the workload of the police, who would have to handle things otherwise.

"Too often we see lanes of traffic in these key areas blocked by work vehicles, equipment, stalled vehicles, and accidents that don't get cleared away quickly," Toronto Mayor John Tory told reporters.

Indeed, even in the short amount of time that the pilot project has been live for, crews on the two aforementioned roadways were dispatched 330 times. Just under half of the incidents involved vehicles that had been disabled.

The high demand for quick clear services is expected to not only keep the pilot program going, but to see it expand as well.

"Eventually I want to see these squads on all the major corridors and key roads," said Tory, who also indicated that service times would encompass weekends as well by early 2018, and that the increased funds would be included in next year's budget.