Are We Building Too Much and Thinking Too Little?

For years the default response to Burlington’s traffic woes has been to look for ways to stop us from using our own roads; cycling, walking, transit. We need a more pragmatic approach. We cannot just induce demand that isn't there. There are a variety of reasons people prefer their cars to other methods of transit. Traffic is the major complaint of the modern driver in Burlington. We need to stop viewing our roads as disjointed fragments and start managing them as an integrated system.

As outlined in my detailed traffic plan the primary cause of our most severe traffic symptoms is not a lack of asphalt, but a breakdown in communication. Currently, our streets, regional arterial roads, and provincial highway ramps are operated by three different levels of government. They are each working with their own signaling priorities.

The proposal for a Centralized Traffic Command Center is a promise to optimize what we already have. By centralizing command into a single data-driven hub, we can implement signaling that provides relief to our existing grid during peak hours and emergencies.

This strategy prioritizes immediate relief for drivers by smoothing traffic flow and reducing idle times, all without the massive budget requirements or years of construction that come with widening our roads.

This is a path toward administrative efficiency that respects the taxpayer. Merging software platforms and streamlining our management teams can eliminate the redundant layers that currently govern our transit. Some studies suggest that centralizing the traffic grid could alleviate gridlock symptoms by 15% to 25% simply by using smarter technology to move cars more effectively.

It is time for the Burlington City Council to shift its focus. We need more intelligence in how we manage the capacity we currently own. By initiating a centralized command framework, we can provide immediate, tangible relief to residents without the disruption of a yet another construction zone.

The current state of our road network paints a portrait of poor sequencing. Take the uncoordinated roll-out of construction projects across the city as a prime example. We are currently seeing simultaneous work Upper Middle Road, Appleby Line, and Burloak Drive. Now we are being informed that Walkers is next on the list. By failing to stagger these critical infrastructure projects, we have effectively choked off north-south and east-west movement throughout the city at the same time, turning manageable commutes into daily gauntlets of congestion.

Furthermore, the city’s approach to major public events often compounds this frustration. The closure of primary arteries like Lakeshore Road and Brant Street for a local running event ignore the immediate impact on the thousands of drivers, and more importantly the primary access route to the city's major hospital. While traditional events are important, they should not come at the cost of paralyzing the entire city’s ability to circulate.

These symptoms are exactly why a Centralized Traffic Command Center is so urgently needed. Without a unified command to manage construction schedules and event diversions as part of a single coherent system, our city will continue to suffer from this patchwork governance. By establishing a central authority we can finally stop managing our roads as isolated segments and start treating them as an integrated grid. Won't that be nice?

To see my detailed plan for a traffic command center including mock-up for a roll-out schedule then please visit HERE

Thank you to Eric Stern from Focus Burlington for his input on these matters.