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Toronto highway construction doubled Gardiner travel times, new study finds
Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway rehabilitation is causing major traffic delays, with new analysis showing travel times have more than doubled in key areas since construction ramped up in April 2025.
While most major metropolitan areas in North America have their share of congestion, especially during commuting hours, the extensive renovation project on the Gardiner has caused major increases in the time it takes to travel through the city.
According to analysis by Geotab ITS, travel times have sharply increased across heavily used stretches of the Gardiner in the past year.
For example, the commute between Humber River and Strachan Avenue, which took just eight minutes before construction began in 2024, now takes 24 minutes. Similarly, the stretch between Jarvis Street and Dufferin Street has gone from 11 minutes to 30 minutes.
Gardiner Expressway construction has doubled travel times and intensified pressure on businesses and drivers, with economic losses expected to climb.
Courtesy of Geotab inc.
The most congested sections of the Gardiner are experiencing delays of up to 230 per cent, with overall travel times along the expressway between Highway 427 and Cherry Street having doubled during peak times, including morning rush hour, between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m.
These growing delays are impacting commercial fleets, which cannot reroute to public transit or alternate roads.
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A survey found that 68 per cent of fleet professionals say work-related stress is affecting their driving, and 34 per cent have considered leaving their jobs in the past year as businesses struggle to meet delivery schedules and drivers face longer hours and mounting pressure.
While some commuters and commercial vehicles with flexible schedules may be able to travel on the Gardiner during the middle of the day instead of during peak hours, travel times have also increased midday.
The analysis showed that a midday, westbound trip that used to take 11 minutes now averages about 21 minutes, or a 91 per cent increase due to construction.
With construction expected to continue through next year, drivers and businesses are being urged to plan ahead.
The Gardiner Expressway’s strategic rehabilitation plan includes six different areas of construction, one of which has already been completed and two of which are currently underway.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
TORONTO – Blue Jays slugger George Springer has been cleared to return to game action after suffering a concussion over two weeks ago, Toronto manager John Schneider said Wednesday.
The 35-year-old outfielder/designated hitter hasn’t played since July 28 when he was hit in the helmet by a fastball thrown by Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kade Strowd.
Springer, who was on hand for batting practice before Toronto’s game against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night, was expected to play for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Thursday.
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“Play DH tomorrow and then see if he needs a game in the outfield to see how he feels,” Schneider said in his pre-game availability. “But he’ll be doing that tomorrow.”
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Springer has been one of the top offensive performers this season for the Blue Jays (70-50), who had a 4 1/2-game lead on the Boston Red Sox in the American League East standings entering play Wednesday.
Over 101 games, Springer has a .291 average, 18 homers, 57 RBIs and an on-base and slugging percentage of .889.
Strowd’s 96-m.p.h. pitch appeared to hit Springer’s shoulder before making contact with his helmet near the ear flap. After laying prone for a moment or two, Springer got up slowly and left the field with some assistance.
He was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list on July 29.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Two delightfully shaggy new faces will be on display at the Toronto Zoo starting on Friday.
The nine-month-old brothers are Scottish Highland cattle, with long, woolly, reddish coats and fringe over their eyes.
The zoo’s manager of wildlife care, Marc Brandson, says the two were born and raised at a local Ontario farm before moving to the zoo about a month ago.
He says they completed a quarantine period and now live just outside the Eurasia Wilds area of the zoo.
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Membership holders can visit the brothers at a pre-screening on Thursday, while other visitors can see them starting Friday.
Brandson says there is “a lot of excitement” around the pair because of how popular the Highland breed already is.
He says the zoo is hoping to have the brothers walk through the public area of the zoo as part of its animal ambassador program, which can give visitors a closer look at certain animals.
“Each and every day, our outreach and discovery staff are working to get them to that level,” he said.
“Having a bonded pair is a really great social situation for Highland cows. These brothers are very calm and they are gaining confidence each and every day that they interact with their caregivers.”
The brothers don’t have names yet, and Brandson says the public should stay tuned on ways to contribute naming ideas.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner says the federal government needs to do more to fight Canada’s devastating forest fires.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday in Ottawa, the Alberta MP accused Ottawa of “inaction” on wildfires. She also blamed that lack of action for new measures restricting activities in the forests of two provinces — even though those bans were imposed by the provinces themselves.
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick last week banned hiking, fishing, camping and the use of vehicles in its forests in response to the heightened wildfire risk.
Rempel Garner said that while she understands the fear Maritimers feel, restricting individuals’ movements is “not right.”
“Whenever there’s a major crisis, what the Liberal government has done by their inaction has conditioned Canadians to expect that the only response they can see out of their federal government is to restrict their movement,” Rempel Garner told reporters.
“We’re calling on the federal government to actually get serious about this issue.”
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Conservative MP Marc Dalton presented a bill last year to stiffen penalties for wildfires caused by arson. It never made it past first reading and died when Parliament was dissolved ahead of this year’s election.
Rempel Garner said that’s one area where the Liberals could have taken action on wildfires. She also called on the federal government to dedicate more resources to wildfire control.
In its 2021 election platform, the Liberals promised to train 1,000 community-based firefighters to fight wildfires and to work with provinces and territories to get them more firefighting planes.
Last month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters that Alberta-based water bomber manufacturer De Havilland was facing a four-year backlog of orders.
“Four full wildfire seasons ago, the Liberals promised more water bombers, more firefighters,” Rempel Garner said. “Where are they?”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston brushed off the criticisms of the forest entry ban at a press conference later Wednesday.
“I find it remarkable, the interest in travelling in Nova Scotia woods by people who aren’t in Nova Scotia and probably haven’t been here much in their life,” Houston told reporters.
“We’re only concerned with keeping people safe. We’ll do what’s necessary to protect lives, and that’s what we’re doing in this case.”
So far this season, the total area of the country burned by wildfires is nearly the size of the entire province of New Brunswick.
— With files from Sarah Ritchie.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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