A new study with a new perspective says congestion may be costing the GTA as much as $11 billion annually, nearly twice what was previously estimated.

The study, which was published Thursday by the C.D. Howe Institute, estimates that the annual price tag of congestion is much steeper than the $6 billion estimated by the Toronto Board of Trade in 2011.

Typically, congestion estimates only evaluate the loss of productivity that results when people are stuck in traffic or on transit. But Benjamin Dachis, the author of the report, said his study provides a new way of estimating the cost because it also takes into account the opportunities people bypass due to heavy congestion.

“People sometimes don’t even get into their cars because of congestion,” said Dachis, who is a policy analyst with the right-leaning think-tank. “It’s about all the benefits we in Toronto aren’t taking advantage of because it’s too far.”

The study claims that the GTA’s economy loses between $1.5 billion and $5 billion annually because congestion deters people from visiting faraway businesses, sharing ideas face-to-face, and taking on better-paying jobs that require a longer commute.

“It’s too far for a lot of people in suburban Toronto to get downtown so they don’t bother taking on a new job or coming in to see the Blue Jays,” the author said.

As a result, Toronto loses out on a key benefit of urban agglomeration — the exchange of ideas, money and labour across the city. According to Dachis, the biggest losses are to downtown neighbourhoods, which lose out on potential talent and business because they are not easily accessible to suburban dwellers. Instead of braving a costly and time-consuming trip to visit a new downtown restaurant or to join an employer in the core, many suburbanites will take their business and skills closer to home, Dachis said.

“The access to urban areas that people could otherwise have, that’s the real cost of congestion,” he said. “That’s my cost of congestion.”

Dachis said he hopes the study prompts governments to take actions toward reducing congestion by improving transit infrastructure and imposing road tolls.

“What we’re hoping that it will bring about is that governments start thinking about the kinds of transportation infrastructure investments they’re making,” he said. “Toronto could be a much-richer city.”

Ontario Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Glen Murray lauded the study and said he is committed to using its findings and methodology in future plans to reduce congestion, which he claimed is a “silent killer of income.”

“The model they’re advancing in how you measure congestion is going to help us as a government better plan our transportation projects,” Murray said. “Having these kinds of measures and having a more specific understanding of congestion will help us make better transportation investments.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Murray added that projects like the Eglinton Crosstown LRT will eventually create a better transportation system that will reduce current productivity losses and improve the flow of people.

“We’re going to be able to put in the transportation infrastructure that’s going to move our goods and people much more efficiently and reduce congestion,” he said. “We know this is a very critical issue.”