Lake Ontario Bridge

[M II A II R II K]

I know it's more than possible to have a bridge for cars and trains underneath that can go from Downtown Toronto to St. Catherines and save a lot of time with such a shortcut.

A long bridge that also has the same design as the Confederation Bridge that more effectively disperses the incoming ice sheets.

So we don't have one because of the cost not being worth it, or lack of vision, or incompetence, or all of the above.

 

[andomano]

So we don't have one because of the cost not being worth it, or lack of vision, or incompetence, or all of the above.

So then the purpose of this thread is....?

 

[M II A II R II K]

Well we know a shortcut like that one would be most appreciated by many, and get a lot of traffic, probably a lot more than the Confederation Bridge for sure.

 

[urbanboom]

^ I think it'd be because of your first reason, Mark, of why this isn't built.

Of all the possible infrastructure projects that this region could do, that one should be very near the bottom. How about deal with the Gardiner, or DRL first?

 

[M II A II R II K]

Well the Confederation Bridge only cost $1 Billion about 15 years ago and took 4 years to build.

A theoretical bridge across the lake would be about 4x longer and of a cost at say less than $10 Billion for it that would be a good bargain for the amount of cross traffic it would get and into the USA and back as well.

And plus it wouldn't be a city specific project but an Ontario project with more than likely with financing from the Federal Government.

 

[jn_12]

Whoever tagged this thread as St Catherines needs a spelling lesson.

People who can't even spell the cities in Niagara properly shouldn't be making recommendations about how to integrate the region into the GTA.

 

[dunkalunk]

There are catamaran ferries that exist that can travel regularly at 100km/h and with icebreakers, can easily cut the distance between downtown Toronto and St. Cats in half, if not into thirds during rush hour.

A road could be built directly off of the 406/QEW and a dock with park and ride built west of Port Dalhousie. Although where in Toronto you could fit a car/passenger ferry dock is debatable, although it should definitely tie in diretly to the Queen's Quay LRT/Docklands LRT to facilitate connections to Union Station and beyond.

As for a bridge, it seems a bit ridiculous to build one, considering the depth of the lake and the distance it would span, even if it may be technically feasible, it would be more worthwhile to invest in existing infrastucture, or in electrified higher speed and frequency rail service in in existing corridors.

If there is demand for a hgih-speed car/passenger ferry, then by all means, buy one or a couple and implement the service. If not, then don't. One of the reasons why the Rochester-Toronto ferry could have failed was because of lack of demand between to two cities. A ferry from st. Catharines would not only capture toronto-bound traffic from the St. Cats-Niagara Region, but also Buffalo, and anyone from the States east of Cleveland going to Toronto.

 

[Second_in_pie]

Whoever tagged this thread as St Catherines needs a spelling lesson.

People who can't even spell the cities in Niagara properly shouldn't be making recommendations about how to integrate the region into the GTA.

How does knowing the spelling of an area prove your wisdom?

 

[jn_12]

How does knowing the spelling of an area prove your wisdom?

As someone from Niagara who has had to endure years of "Niagra" and "St Catherines" as well as other uninformed comments (such as being unable to understand the difference between Niagara and Niagara Falls), trust me when I say that these things say a lot about someone's knowledge of the region.

 

[BobBob]

If I read in the news that it was decided we would spend $10b on a bridge across Lake Ontario, I would laugh, and then cry.

 

[jn_12]

Now anyways, is this a good idea that would help Niagara? Perhaps, depending on what you think Niagara is or should become but I'm siding on the side against a bridge.

My main concern is that Niagara is not a suburb of the GTA and that a quicker route between the two could cause the region to become much more like its counterparts on the other side of Hamilton. The cities in Niagara are not bedroom communities and the people there do not commute to work outside of Niagara. They'll gladly go from St Catharines to Welland, but I didn't know anyone whose parents traveled outside of the region to work. So essentially, you'd be creating another bedroom community for people who already work in Toronto, thereby driving prices in just about every area (from housing to groceries) way up. People in Niagara can't afford that and you're running the risk of dramatically altering these communities.

There are a few benefits such as quicker transportation of goods, but trucks aren't usually heading to/from downtown Toronto. And cutting 30-40 minutes from the trip isn't really a lot in the grand scheme of things, especially when you might be stuck idling at the border for twice as long.

 

[kendrew]

What if they had a ferry to take the trucks from Toronto < -> Niagara. That'd reduce the amount of trucks on the QEW for sure. Fuel savings probably be well worth it.

Although a bridge is a bit too extreme... If they're going to do that, why don't they build a bridge to the US from Toronto... I'm sure that'd work out.

 

[waterloowarrior]

I believe the bridge would have to be the longest (50+ KM) and deepest (100-120 metres) in the world.

 

[Millstone]

As someone from Niagara who has had to endure years of "Niagra" and "St Catherines" as well as other uninformed comments (such as being unable to understand the difference between Niagara and Niagara Falls), trust me when I say that these things say a lot about someone's knowledge of the region.

How about "St. Catherine's"... that's nails on a chalkboard

 

[afransen]

Not going to happen, and not even a good idea. We could build a high speed rail line from St Catharines to Toronto for less, and it'd be faster.