TORONTO – Access to long term infrastructure funding is critical for Canadian truckers and their customers, OTA President David Bradley continues to suggest.

Speaking to delegates of the Greater Toronto Transportation Conference, Bradley said industry and government also need to combat the more immediate problem of highway and road congestion in the GTA, “but it takes time to build new roads and highways and besides, you can’t pave over everything.

In the meantime, Bradley added, carriers need to make better use of the existing infrastructure by convincing shippers and consignees to have improved shipping efficiency during off peak times.

Bradley said the recent proposal by Toronto city councilor Michael Walker to ban trucks from the downtown core during rush hours “ignores the fact that shippers and consignees determine when goods are picked up or dropped off, not the carrier.”

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.

The matter is before committee.