micheal_can
Senior Member
I am starting this thread to discuss the challenges of the park and what can be done to ease the congestion that has only gotten worse over the years.
MTO has plans to eventually widen Highway 60 from Deerhurst to Highway 35.
Other than that, not much. It's a large park, it's never really going to be public transit serviceable in a significant way. At least not in our lifetimes.
MTO has plans to eventually widen Highway 60 from Deerhurst to Highway 35.
Other than that, not much. It's a large park, it's never really going to be public transit serviceable in a significant way. At least not in our lifetimes.
I'll solve it for you in one post.
White Duck Provincial Park.
A proposed park negotiated as part of the land claims settlement process with the Algonquins of Ontario.
Its located south of Algonquin Provincial Park.
The proposed size is 30,000 acres which means Its a Wilderness Park.
It will be a similar distance or closer to Toronto than Alqonquin Park is; and subject to offering camping and hiking will really help take the edge off that park.
We need other new/enlarged parks closer to the GTA, and particularly south-west thereof; but this will be huge.
The only question is when it will actually be up and running.
So far as I know the MNR is only beginning to look at the details this fall......so we're probably still at least 4-5 years out, and maybe a bit more.
****
MTO just needs all its engineers fired.
My answer is the right one.............more highway widening just induces more traffic and is highly destructive to a special place.
The big answer is finding other places for people to camp and commune with wilderness.
The secondary answer is diverting a small portion of traffic (mostly commuter, not camping or cottage) to trains/buses; its also having a shuttle bus within the park that connects campgrounds to grocery stores, hiking trails etc, so that people arrive at camp and choose to leave their car there, rather than shuttle around the park in it.
There are many parks close to Toronto and some are feeling the pressure. One new park isn't going to do much.
Should a rail lien to Algonquin be put in?
Should a transit service be started there?
I'll solve it for you in one post.
White Duck Provincial Park.
A proposed park negotiated as part of the land claims settlement process with the Algonquins of Ontario.
Its located south of Algonquin Provincial Park.
The proposed size is 30,000 acres which means Its a Wilderness Park.
It will be a similar distance or closer to Toronto than Alqonquin Park is; and subject to offering camping and hiking will really help take the edge off that park.
We need other new/enlarged parks closer to the GTA, and particularly south-west thereof; but this will be huge.
The only question is when it will actually be up and running.
So far as I know the MNR is only beginning to look at the details this fall......so we're probably still at least 4-5 years out, and maybe a bit more.
****
MTO just needs all its engineers fired.
My answer is the right one.............more highway widening just induces more traffic and is highly destructive to a special place.
The big answer is finding other places for people to camp and commune with wilderness.
The secondary answer is diverting a small portion of traffic (mostly commuter, not camping or cottage) to trains/buses; its also having a shuttle bus within the park that connects campgrounds to grocery stores, hiking trails etc, so that people arrive at camp and choose to leave their car there, rather than shuttle around the park in it.
Any details on this? I haven't heard anything about such a new park, and google doesn't seem to return much. I certainly like the idea. It's still very small compared to Algonquin though.
Another option may be improving access to Algonquin. Perhaps a new road further north to increase access and spread out visitors. Highway 60 mostly only accesses the southern portion of the park, there is no real access for the vast majority of the park. Perhaps a new access highway from South River to Mattawa or something.
30,000 acres is not 'one new park' like the others, it would be the largest park south of Algonquin, by far.
They haven't got to the stage of how much camping will be accomodated, but I would expect at least 2 locations, and in the range of 800 sites.
Some of that will just absorb latent demand; but some of it will take some steam out of Algonquin, which is what's needed.
Yes, more new/expanded parks will be needed. But this will make a material difference, for awhile.
No to rail through the park.
You're not going to shift very many campers/daytrippers by having rail, the cost recovery isn't there.
The key with rail is taking commuters out of the picture on highway 11/400 or 35/115.
The latter, hopefully will addressed through VIA HFR.
The former will require the extension of GO/other rail north to Orillia in the medium term; and later a bit further.
Reducing traffic in the park is about shuttling campers to trails/grocery via bus.
One could call that transit.
But it wouldn't really be a system.
It would be confined to Highway 60 with some possible exception for service that goes to Huntsville.
There would be the economics to make it work on weekends and holidays during the peak season (Victoria Day to Thanksgiving).
It wouldn't make any sense to run such a service off-season; and weekdays would be pretty marginal.
People won't leave their cars at campsite for a service that's less than hourly.
The problem I am concerned with is in the actual park.
If some sort of transit actually ran to all trail heads and campground and ran frequently enough, it would mean less need to drive to the various places. You could have buses that go to certain campgrounds or certain trails and so forth. Parkbus could be integrated as well.
Kawartha Highlands' at 37,500 and Queen Elizabeth II, 33,500ha; both south of Algonquin. How many have heard of these? Maybe they could have enhanced facilities.