Sidewalk Labs wants to create a new transportation agency for its proposed “smart city” development in the Port Lands that would have the authority to set speed limits and manage traffic, among other powers that currently fall under the city’s jurisdiction.

According to an eagerly awaited master plan Sidewalk released Monday detailing its futuristic but contentious development proposal, the hypothetical agency, which the company has dubbed the Waterfront Transportation Management Association (WTMA), would employ cutting-edge technology to efficiently advance transportation policies that are currently overseen by various municipal departments, or are too sophisticated to be on city hall’s radar at all.

However, critics say the new agency would erode citizens’ democratic rights by removing the responsibility for transportation decisions from local elected officials.

“Over my dead body,” said Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park), who has opposed numerous aspects of Sidewalk’s plans, of the WTMA idea.

“Accountability to the public is greatly harmed ... This would further cement that distance between people that elect governments and the decisions that they make.”

In its master plan, Sidewalk, a Manhattan-based sister company of tech giant Google, makes the case that the city’s current transportation planning is “piecemeal ... one entity oversees parking, another manages traffic signals, and yet another sets the price of transit rides.”

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By contrast, the WTMA would be empowered to “seamlessly integrate diverse mobility options” within the limits of the 190-acre redevelopment the company is eyeing as a testing ground for its urban innovations.

Working with the TTC and Toronto’s transportation department, the WTMA’s responsibilities would include managing Sidewalk’s $360-million dynamic streets program, which would employ easily replaceable modular pavement stones, lighting and signage to adapt road configurations to traffic conditions in real time.

The WTMA would also manage an “integrated mobility package” that would provide residents with access to a range of transportation options that could include a monthly TTC pass, unlimited Bike Share membership, electric scooters, and credits for ride-hail or car-share services. Sidewalk estimates the package would cost residents $270 a month.

In addition, the WTMA would set speed limits, operate transportation management hardware and software such as adaptive traffic lights, and set and collect fees for activities such as parking, curb access and ride-hailing trips in the development district.

Sidewalk couldn’t say how much revenue such fees would generate, but the money would be put into a dedicated fund for capital improvements and operations.

Granting the WTMA jurisdiction over things such as speed limits and traffic signals would require changes to existing provincial and municipal legislation, the master plan acknowledges.

The WTMA would be a public body guided by a steering committee that would include members from all three levels of government, and would report to a new public administrator tasked with overseeing the Port Lands development.

In an interview, Andrew Miller, associate director of mobility for Sidewalk Labs, said the oversight of the public administrator would ensure the WTMA would be “just as accountable” as any existing government agency.

He stressed that while Sidewalk believes creating the new agency is the best way forward, “it’s not a deal-breaker.”

“If the city and the province really want Metrolinx or city transportation services, or even (the Toronto Parking Authority) to do this, we’ll get behind it,” he said.

Perks said authority to manage transportation issues has already been clearly delegated to existing government bodies such as the transportation department and Toronto Parking Authority, and if residents want to pursue programs like those Sidewalk is proposing they can elect leaders who will enact them.

“Creating a body which is further removed from the public because you want a specific policy outcome” isn’t democratic, he said.

“This is nothing but a power grab.”

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Waterfront Toronto, the tri-government agency responsible for revitalizing lakefront lands, is reviewing Sidewalk’s proposal for developing the Port Lands. It has already raised concerns that the tech company is overreaching by proposing plans for an area far bigger than the original 12-acre Quayside site.

In response to questions about the WTMA proposal, Andrew Tumilty, a spokesperson for Waterfront Toronto, said that while transportation and transit “is always a critical component of Waterfront Toronto’s plans” the establishment of a new transportation agency “falls outside of our mandate.”

“With public consultations starting in the next few weeks, we are eager to hear from the people of Toronto on all the proposals for Quayside, as we move into the evaluation phase of this project,” he said.

Ben Spurr is a Toronto-based reporter covering transportation. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr

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