A Toronto woman is going viral for walking on the highway after being fed up with traffic in the city, as the city continues preparations to hire a traffic czar.
The video, posted to TikTok last week, shows the woman walking by several cars on the Gardiner Expressway, and as she walks, she explains why she chose to do so.
“Toronto has literally gotten to the point of crazy traffic, that it’s just faster to walk,” she said. “I’m walking on the fricking shoulder of the highway.”
@icessr My first mistake was going downtown lol #toronto #torontolife #torontotraffic #traffic #citylife ♬ Noite de Verão – ya-su
The woman proceeds to say that it took her three hours just to get into the city, despite GPS indicating that it would only take her 48 minutes to arrive at her destination.
“This is messed up, do I feel crazy? Yea. But I don’t care, I was going more crazy in the Uber,” she said.
The video has since received more than 130,000 views as of publication with some users seemingly supporting her.
“I literally did the same thing yesterday,” a TikTok user said.
“Toronto is Undrivable,” another user said.
“Did the same thing a couple weeks ago,” another user said.
However, many users pointed out the danger in walking on the highway, and offered alternative solutions.
“You know it’s illegal to walk on the highway right?,” a TikTok user said.
“Girl this is dangerous,” another user said.
“Take the subway,” another user said.
The video comes as the city moves forward with establishing its long-awaited traffic czar position.
Earlier this year, council voted to establish a lead position to focus on creative solutions to tackling congestion, which has been referred to as a traffic czar.
At its meeting on July 10, the Infrastructure and Environment Committee considered a report to hire for a ‘Chief Congestion Officer’ and outlined its key responsibilities.
“The position will report directly to the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services and will play a pivotal role in managing and mitigating congestion across the City,” a city report said.
The report says the largest contributor to congestion in the city is construction.
“While the creation of this role will not eliminate congestion, the leadership it will provide will help to enhance how the City actively manages congestion against the ongoing pressures of growth and development,” the report said.
As for any potential charges related to residents walking on the Gardiner, Toronto Police tells Now Toronto there “really isn’t an applicable fine or charge in relation to a person walking on the shoulder.”
TPS says most charges that would apply in this situation would only apply on 400 series highways.
“The only charge that could possibly be laid in this situation would be under the Highway Traffic Act and it is ‘pedestrian on roadway, fail to keep to left edge’,” police said.
