(Jan. 11, 2010) Energy Probe’s Executive Director Lawrence Solomon tells Citytv that the best way for Toronto to solve its gridlock problem is to introduce road tolling.

Toronto’s rush hour commute is one of the world’s worst, according to a recent article in Maclean’s magazine.

The average commuter spends 80 minutes behind the wheel a day, averaging 32 work-days per year stuck in the frustrating confines of snail-paced traffic jams.

“We have a serious problem on our hands, it’s only going to get worse,” said Andrew Coyne, Maclean’s National Editor.

“They’re stuck sitting there on this massive highway, it’s slower than going on other roads, this makes no sense whatsoever.”

Some suggest toll roads could help alleviate the congestion, but it’s a hard sell to those accustomed to navigating freely.

“My recommendation is that we toll all roads in the city,” said Larry Solomon, Exec., Director, Energy Probe.

Currently only the 407 charges drivers, but in cities like Singapore, widespread toll roads have helped reduce traffic.

Solomon also believes they would help boost public transit, and lower insurance rates.

“If we charge based on the amount of traffic, the amount of congestion on the roads, we’d find that busy roads stop being busy, and roads that haven’t been busy and can take more traffic naturally start taking more traffic.”

Read the original article (with a video attached) here.

Citytv, January 11, 2011