Granted, we had a short stay but from what I saw so far, I can see why it gets compared to both there and Chicago. It felt more like NYC geographically (in size and how there are multiple areas some distance apart with high rises and such), but Chicago in appearance and cleanliness/shininess. Chicago definitely has a lot of neighborhoods but outside of their core, in connection with some lakefront areas, it's mostly low-rises and residential areas. Now hopefully Toronto doesn't prove me wrong by surprising me with NYC-style piles of trash bags on the sidewalks on our next visit!
Based on my short visit to both NYC & Toronto, I would say traffic is comparable, especially the way taxi cabs navigate.
