Gherson: Breaking down gridlock: What Toronto’s congestion officer needs to succeed

Toronto finally has a Chief Congestion Officer. That's a good start. 

Congestion is an economic emergency. Gridlock costs the GTHA $44.7 billion a year, stealing time and productivity, raising costs for business, and eroding quality of life. 

In last February’s Breaking Gridlock Action Plan, the Toronto Region Board of Trade called for the creation of a new city office with a mandate to work across departments to reduce congestion and get Toronto moving. 

The City’s first appointee to head that office is Andrew Posluns, who has a reputation as a sharp, policy-minded public servant – and one with a background in transportation. 

But his success won't depend only on his talent, expertise and ambition. It will depend on the authority and tools his new office will deploy. 

Toronto’s congestion problem has never been a lack of knowledge. It’s always been about prioritization and execution. 

The structural problem 

What causes congestion? It’s the consequence of a wide range of decisions and trade-offs made across departments, divisions, agencies, and contractors that add up: road construction, utility work, permits, events, enforcement, transit, freight, traffic signals and how we use the curbside lanes on major arteries – for transit, vehicles, cafes and bike lanes. 

Decisions that, on their own, only slightly impact mobility, are made through separate structures. They accumulate, overlapping disruptions and avoidable delays, and streets start to seize up. 

Too often, everyone operates in silos. This is the problem that the Chief Congestion Officer is supposed to fix. 

Therein lies the challenge. As it stands, Mr. Posluns will report to the Deputy City Manager for Infrastructure Services. That has merit. However, infrastructure, while a vital priority, also happens to be one of the silos that contributes to congestion. 

We had argued consistently that the Chief Congestion Officer should report directly to the Mayor and Council – or, at the very least, to the City Manager. 

You can't break silos from inside a silo. 

Authority matters 

Toronto has no shortage of plans or smart people. What's been missing is authority, coordination, and urgency; the ability to enforce decisions across divisions at the pace the city needs. 

If the Chief Congestion Officer is treated as a coordinator within a single portfolio, the City risks creating yet another position that produces reports while gridlock worsens. 

We look forward to working with Mr. Posluns, and the City must set him up to succeed. 

To make the big difference that’s needed, the Chief Congestion Officer must have the mandate and political backing to coordinate road-impacting activity across the full city ecosystem. That kind of authority can only come from the top. The Mayor and City Manager oversee all the silos. They are uniquely positioned to break deadlocks and move quickly. 

A fixed deadline is coming 

We have little time for delay: FIFA 2026 is approaching, and fast. Toronto can either demonstrate competence at a global standard or showcase a city that cannot manage its own streets. 

We do not have the luxury of multi-year debates. We need near-term fixes, quickly, and we need them to stick. 

What empowerment looks like 

If the Mayor and City Manager want the Chief Congestion Officer to deliver, they must work with Mr. Posluns to do four things immediately. 

1. Publicly confirm this role has the authority to cut across divisions. Not to advise, not to report. To coordinate and direct road-impacting activity across divisions and agencies starting day one. 
2. Set 90-day deliverables — quick wins Torontonians can feel. Fewer overlapping disruptions. Faster completion of closures. Better curb management. Smarter coordination in busy corridors. 
3. Publish clear KPIs and annual report on his office’s actions and impacts. Travel times. Reliability. Speeds on key corridors. Time-to-complete for lane closures. If the public can't see progress, there is no accountability. 
4. Provide political cover to make trade-offs quickly. Reducing congestion means saying no — to poorly timed closures, to avoidable restrictions, to small decisions that create big system failures. 

This is a moment for leadership 

Toronto has created and filled a new, critical role. Now City Hall must do the hard part: build the authority around that role so that it can drive real change. 

If this becomes another bureaucratic file managed inside a silo without the authority, it doesn’t matter how dedicated the CCO is. Congestion will persist, public trust will erode, and Toronto will continue to fall behind. 

If the Mayor and City Manager are serious about breaking gridlock, they should prove it: empower the Chief Congestion Officer to act across the system with urgency and accountability. 

We'll measure success in travel times, not titles.