T.O. sends truck ban plan to committee

TORONTO — Toronto City Council has voted to refer a motion to ban all truck deliveries in Toronto’s downtown core to the Works Committee for public input and deputations.

The motion, presented directly to City Council by Councillor Michael Walker, had not been previously considered by Council or any of its committees and it therefore needed a 2/3 vote to by-pass committee consideration. It failed to get that support.

Walker is proposing to ban all truck deliveries in the city’s downtown core for six hours a day, during morning and evening rush hour. The plan would restrict picking up or dropping off goods between the hours of 7:00 am-10:00 am and 3:00 pm-6:00 pm.

Hogtown politicians will review
controversial truck ban proposal

Ontario Trucking Association President David Bradley wrote to Walker as well as the Mayor David Miller and all members of Council indicating that “delivery schedules are not established by the trucking industry. Our customers — in this case the businesses located in the downtown core — dictate when and where our trucks pick-up and deliver goods.

“The problem,” Bradley says, “is, and has always been, that few businesses in the core are 24/7 enterprises and have staff available to receive or load goods during off-peak times. By forcing all trucks to make deliveries during a limited narrow delivery window, the result may also be increased truck traffic during 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.”

Bradley suggested the city would have to suggest thousands of businesses to absorb the additional cost of being able to ship and receive before and after the peak congestion periods. “To date most have not shown a willingness to do so,” he wrote.

Bradley urged members of council to refer the matter to a committee for full consultation with both the trucking industry and shippers-receivers. “This proposal requires careful consideration of all of the impacts of such a policy,” he stated.

A number of Councilors responded to Bradley’s letter with favourable comments.

OTA, notes, however, that the issue hasn’t gone away. The Works Committee will now hold consultations as OTA had requested, but they may yet vote to enact a ban on truck deliveries in the downtown area. OTA will be making a strong presentation to the committee when the hearings are held, the association says.