Traffic agents in Mississauga? Mayor hints at it as a way to fight gridlock

A traffic congestion management strategy that uses trained citizens to keep vehicles moving and improve road safety in busy areas might be a fit for Mississauga, the city’s mayor suggests.

Currently, Toronto is the only major city in Canada to operate such an initiative. Its Traffic Agent Program places “expertly trained special constables at key intersections during peak traffic hours,” the City of Toronto says in its online description of the program. “Their role is to improve traffic flow and enhance safety for everyone — public transit, drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.”

Appointed by the Toronto Police Services Board as special constables, the traffic agents — Toronto currently has 60 — are given the authority to manage traffic in real time at busy intersections.

“They direct the movement of all road users to reduce traffic congestion, ensure safety and maintain efficient traffic flow,” the City of Toronto noted.

Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish floated the idea of introducing traffic agents in Canada’s seventh-largest city.

Responsibilities of traffic agents include:

• Preventing vehicles from “blocking the box” (entering an intersection they know will be unlikely to clear before the light changes).
• Encouraging pedestrians to obey crossing signals.
• Ensuring cyclists follow traffic rules.
• Discouraging illegal stopping or parking near intersections.
• Issuing parking violations when necessary.

After Mississauga city council recently approved a motion to set a $125 fine for drivers who block signalized intersections — “blocking the box” — Mayor Carolyn Parrish floated the idea of following Toronto’s lead and at some point using traffic agents in Canada’s seventh-largest city.

She said she often sees them while driving in Toronto, “especially under the Gardiner (Expressway) directing people.”

Parrish asked senior City of Mississauga staff to look at Toronto’s model and provide council with a little more information, specifically “a quick comment” on how that city uses traffic agents and whether or not they must operate within “eyesight of a police officer.”

The mayor said, “I’m not trying to add staff. I’m just suggesting that it’s maybe something we consider in an easy budget year.”

In Toronto, those who become traffic agents must pass a police background check and fitness assessment, and complete specialized training provided by the City of Toronto and police.

Toronto welcomed 40 new traffic agents earlier this month, increasing the ranks to 60 “who are deployed to some of Toronto’s most congested intersections during the morning and afternoon peak periods,” Toronto city officials said in a news release.

The plan is to have 100 traffic agents in Toronto by the end of the year.

“There’s nothing more frustrating than sitting in traffic — that’s why we are hiring 100 traffic agents to reduce travel times by up to 33 per cent,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said in the City of Toronto’s news release.