Average weekly - 76%
Peak Day - Wednesday 85%
Low Day - Friday 51%
The March break is often a time when people take time off with kids and grand kids. The Index clearly reflects that trend in in-office work. Early numbers for April suggests that this will be temporary. The April 15th Index to be published at the beginning of May, will likely show a significant increase in in-office work.
There is little question that job uncertainty is behind more in-office work as we suggested it might be in the last Index. That trend will find its way into the Index late in March or early April.
Regardless of how the economy fares over the next few months we believe that congestion will not abate and that solutions to moving people and goods and services around the Region continues to be a priority. Look for more on this in the next Forum scheduled for late May.
Your SRRA Team,
Links to Articles of Interest
Derry Road Transit Corridor Proposed in Northern Mississauga
Citing continued demand for better transit on the busy streets of Mississauga, city staff are targeting an east-west higher order transit corridor on Derry Road. Transit supporters are hoping that key projects like this one can be completed far more quickly than the Hurontario LRT project, which like its cousin the Eglington Crosstown, has been plagued by delays. The idea was first broached in 2006, and announced by Metrolinx two years later.
Read Article Here.
TTC Awards $1B (yes, billion) Contract for Capacity Upgrades at Yonge & Bloor
The ambitious project will expand platforms, improve circulation and generally prepare the city to accommodate growth in the TTC network. “KMJV will enter a two-year development phase, during which time the team will develop a design, schedule, methodology and target price proposal for the construction of the project.” The goal is to complete this phase in two years.
Demand for Hydro As Economy Electrifies Leading to Conflicts in Boston
Acknowledging the need to boost hydro capacity in U.S. cities such as Boston may come into conflict with municipal goals for sustainability, local politicians are facing pushback from residents against proposals to create large battery plants in mature neighbourhoods. Residents cite safety concerns after one such plant caught fire earlier this year, not once but twice. Well-publicized fires in electric vehicles that prove challenging to extinguish fuel these worries.
U.S. Investors Set to Double Down on Office Conversions
As vacancy rates in anything but Triple AAA territory continues to trouble landlords, Bloomberg is reporting that major U.S. investment funds are building a war chest for the purpose of accelerating the rate of office conversions. The funds would be targeted to larger markets like D.C., New York and Chicago, where the supply of older office buildings is often concentrated in areas that have fallen out of favour.
Is Retail Banking Destined for ‘Dodo’ Status?
Although the Dodo, a flightless, peaceful bird once found off the coast of Africa, is now extinct, its name lives on as a shorthand for anything destined to disappear. According to a new survey from the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the retail bank could soon follow the Dodo into extinction as developers cash in on a wholesale shift to on-line banking. If Canada follows the U.S. trend, look for a shake-up in commercial rents on Main Street, where banks have traditionally provided easy income for developers looking to lease ground floor retail space.
Strangest Link Ever? – Ontario Throne Speech Revives Tunnel Under 401
The same government winning plaudits for going to bat for Ontario’s economy included the proposal to construct a 60km road and transit tunnel under Highway 401 in April’s Throne Speech as a solution to Toronto’s chronic congestion. Note that the speech was delivered fully two weeks after April 1.
“The Occupancy Index is supported by the City of Toronto, Downtown Yonge BIA, and Downtown West BIA. It is a measure of the percentage of office employees returning to the office compared to the number of employees who would normally have come to their offices pre-COVID. For a detailed description of the calculation please contact Iain Dobson at [email protected],”