Will Ferrell joins a running list of celebrities grumbling about Toronto’s traffic, claiming it took him “30 minutes to go a block” down the road.
If you’ve been anywhere near the downtown core, chances are you know exactly what he’s talking about. Earlier this year, Toronto was ranked third out of 387 cities for having the worst traffic congestion.
In a TIFF red carpet interview for his new film “Will & Harper,” Ferrell told reporters: “It took us 30 minutes to go a block.” He then added that being from Los Angeles made him “used to it.”
Meanwhile on Thursday, Mayor Olivia Chow and city officials released data that they say demonstrates their congestion management plan is working.
The data points to measures they’ve taken in recent months that include deploying traffic agents at busy intersections, creating a temporary bus lane along Spadina Avenue, and allowing left turns from Lake Shore Boulevard onto Spadina Avenue.
In July, traffic near the Gardiner was so bad that Irish singer and former One Direction member Niall Horan ditched his car under the expressway and walked along Lake Shore Boulevard to attend his own concert at Scotiabank Arena. “Traffic’s too bad in Toronto so we’re walking to the venue. Let’s do it!” Horan was filmed saying in a video shared online.
One year ago, Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri made that same unfortunate walk to Scotiabank Arena. Ujirir was spotted by a passing driver who then uploaded the clip to social media in a caption that read, “Masai wasn’t having it with that lakeshore boulevard traffic (sic).”
In town promoting his latest Mission Impossible flick last year, Tom Cruise remarked about the congestion in the city. “What’s up with the traffic in Toronto? Have they figured this out?” Cruise asked a reporter. “I just want to be in Toronto, but like, minus the traffic,” he said.
“Canadians are very reserved, except in road rage and cinema,” said Guillermo del Toro during TIFF last year.
Tony Levin, bass player for Peter Gabriel, talked about traffic while in town performing with Gabriel at Scotiabank Arena. “After we left our hotel to go to soundcheck (sic) at the venue, I saw this man running down the street, carrying a Peter Gabriel album,” he wrote in a blog post.
“Our guess was that he was trying to catch the car Peter was in. And with Toronto traffic, he probably did.”
