Driving time from Sheppard / DVP to Square One for work

[Rocky]

Being new to the commuting scene in the morning as my work was always a few minutes from my home - I need some advice from the GURUs on how long would it take me to drive to reach Square one Mississauga at 830 each morning from Sheppard / DVP. I am reluctant to moving in Mississauga and am thinking that i can manage the commuting.

How long would it take approx for me to reach square one in the morning during rush hour and how is the drive back. For the lack of knowledge i have - I definitely know its not extremely pleasant - but i am keen to know if this is considered against the traffic ?

All suggestions are much appreciated

 

[JayBeeGooner]

Being new to the commuting scene in the morning as my work was always a few minutes from my home - I need some advice from the GURUs on how long would it take me to drive to reach Square one Mississauga at 830 each morning from Sheppard / DVP. I am reluctant to moving in Mississauga and am thinking that i can manage the commuting.

How long would it take approx for me to reach square one in the morning during rush hour and how is the drive back. For the lack of knowledge i have - I definitely know its not extremely pleasant - but i am keen to know if this is considered against the traffic ?

All suggestions are much appreciated

I would give at least one hour for the first week, and slowly refine the driving time over time. 401 traffic can be unpredictable during the peak periods, and travel times can vary.

 

[Rocky]

I would give at least one hour for the first week, and slowly refine the driving time over time. 401 traffic can be unpredictable during the peak periods, and travel times can vary.

Thank You JayBeeGooner, I was estimating it would take much more longer and will certainly fine tune the route as i get used to it. Is this route considered against the traffic during rush hour ?

 

[gweed123]

The 401 tends to bottleneck between the 400 and the 427. If that happens, you may want to consider taking the 409-427SB and hop back on the 401 around Pearson. May save you a couple minutes.

 

[nfitz]

Is the 401 (or even 401/409/427/401) the fastest way to go at the peak of rush-hour? If you are just north of 401 to start (so can slip on to 404 northbound avoiding the bottleneck at 401), it may be faster to go up to the 407, then south on Hurontario (410/403 is more direct, but very poor from what I hear)... or even Mavis/Cantay/McLaughlin/Confederation Parkway if there are Hurontario problems (which should be easing as the 401 widening construction there eases). Probably best to try different routes different days ...

You'd certainly need some alternatives, because even if you can do 1-hour most days, it only takes once accident and suddenly it's 90 minutes+ one day.

There may also be some transit options, using the GO Bus that goes from Yonge-Sheppard to Square One - http://www.gotransit.com/publicroot/en/PDF/Timetables/CurrentBoard/Table19.pdf

One thing you could do is go into Google Maps at around 8 AM and see what it estimates the current travel time on your route (I'm not aware of doing this with anything other than live data, so you'd have to try a few different days). https://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=S...;FT8xmQIdh7dA-w&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=15&t=m&z=11

 

[TOareaFan]

Is the 401 (or even 401/409/427/401) the fastest way to go at the peak of rush-hour? If you are just north of 401 to start (so can slip on to 404 northbound avoiding the bottleneck at 401), it may be faster to go up to the 407, then south on Hurontario (410/403 is more direct, but very poor from what I hear)... or even Mavis/Cantay/McLaughlin/Confederation Parkway if there are Hurontario problems (which should be easing as the 401 widening construction there eases). Probably best to try different routes different days ...

You'd certainly need some alternatives, because even if you can do 1-hour most days, it only takes once accident and suddenly it's 90 minutes+ one day.

There may also be some transit options, using the GO Bus that goes from Yonge-Sheppard to Square One - http://www.gotransit.com/publicroot/en/PDF/Timetables/CurrentBoard/Table19.pdf

One thing you could do is go into Google Maps at around 8 AM and see what it estimates the current travel time on your route (I'm not aware of doing this with anything other than live data, so you'd have to try a few different days). https://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=S...;FT8xmQIdh7dA-w&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=15&t=m&z=11

Not sure how much time would be saved by going north on 404 to 407 as opposed to the 401 but I can pretty much guarantee that any savings would be lost (and likely more) in the stretch of 410 south from 407 to to the 403.

As I have posted before, my morning commute is 410-401-427-Gardiner and, by far, the slowest and most congested of those roads is the 410 (no contest) and it is particularly bad in the stretch south of steeles as traffic from 407 and Derry and Courtney Park all have to merge into the 3 through lanes and then figure out which lane they have to be in (depending on if they are going to the 403 or which 401 ramp). It is not a route that should ever be confused as a "time saver".

 

[nfitz]

Not sure how much time would be saved by going north on 404 to 407 as opposed to the 401 but I can pretty much guarantee that any savings would be lost (and likely more) in the stretch of 410 south from 407 to to the 403.

Agreed, which is why I'd suggest Mavis and over to McLaughlin (Confederation Parkway). Though I wonder if there's a good way to get over to McLaughlin from Hurontario ...

 

[TOareaFan]

Agreed, which is why I'd suggest Mavis and over to McLaughlin (Confederation Parkway). Though I wonder if there's a good way to get over to McLaughlin from Hurontario ...

Yeah, I saw that but was really just jumping in to discourage the OP from ever going out of his way to use the 410....the other roads?...I dunno, I have never used those roads in rush hour but if you got off the 407 at Hurontario went south to Derry and along Derry to McLaughlin that would be as direct a route as you could find but I think the combination of traffic and lights would really eat into any savings made by replacing the 401 by the 407....and even if there was a saving, would it be significant enough to justify the road toll cost that is unique to the 407?

 

[Spinner]

Is the 401 (or even 401/409/427/401) the fastest way to go at the peak of rush-hour? If you are just north of 401 to start (so can slip on to 404 northbound avoiding the bottleneck at 401), it may be faster to go up to the 407, then south on Hurontario (410/403 is more direct, but very poor from what I hear)...

I'm going to go on record and say that taking the 404-407-410-403 route to avoid congestion on the 401 is completely asinine. For your trip to and from home via the 407, you'd be putting an extra ~45km on your car and spending ~$20 in toll...everyday! The key to a successful commute, as other posters have noted, will be refining your route and alternates as you gain familiarity with the drive. When to be on the express vs collectors, where you can get on and off the 401 with relative ease in the event of lane blockages and major congestion points (typically along major interchanges). 680news' traffic updates at the 1's become incredibly relavent for these types of commutes. One thing to remember is that the Square one area is quite congested in itself in the morning, particularly the Hurontario corridor, so I'd leave yourself over an hour the first bit until you become more familiar with your route and traffic patterns.

 

[Dan416]

Today I was taking the 410 south from Steeles around 6 and it was fine until I saw all the brake lights just after Derry. I got off at Derry...Derry was a nightmare. I decided to try Hurontario southbound, and it was surprisingly empty. I'm not sure if Hurontario southbound in the evening is always like that, but it was a dream compared to the east-west streets (Steeles/Derry/Courtneypark).

I can imagine the southbound direction is terrible in the morning rush though.

 

[nfitz]

I'm going to go on record and say that taking the 404-407-410-403 route to avoid congestion on the 401 is completely asinine. For your trip to and from home via the 407, you'd be putting an extra ~45km on your car and spending ~$20 in toll...everyday!

I don't think a single person here has advocated using 410-403 because of the congestion on 410. Though the distance and cost apply equally to the other 407 routes. Sure, $20 a day, but if you save 40 minutes a day, and have a much less stressful drive, then that may be worth it for some. That would be only $30 per hour.

Though might be a bit much for many every day. But it's a good route to have in your back pocket when there's a big 401 problem.

The key to a successful commute, as other posters have noted, will be refining your route and alternates as you gain familiarity with the drive. When to be on the express vs collectors, where you can get on and off the 401 with relative ease in the event of lane blockages and major congestion points (typically along major interchanges). 680news' traffic updates at the 1's become incredibly relavent for these types of commutes. One thing to remember is that the Square one area is quite congested in itself in the morning, particularly the Hurontario corridor, so I'd leave yourself over an hour the first bit until you become more familiar with your route and traffic patterns.

Bingo ... and I found for commutes like this, even the occasional use of transit seemed like a refreshing vacation! Particularly on days when it was going to be a snowy drive home.

 

[W. K. Lis]

If you want to save money, use the 401 before 7 AM or after 7 PM.

 

[James]

Having done this commute in the past, I would definitely allow for about an hour. Westbound traffic on the 401 starts to build up at DVP/Sheppard right around 7:30am. If you leave earlier, you'll probably fly through to around Allen Road in a steady flow of traffic. If you leave later, you may get backed up before you even hit Leslie.

Traffic will definitely start to build up as you approach the 400. If you can tough it out until then, you're almost through. I wouldn't actually recommend hopping along the 409-427S in order to bypass that stretch of 401. I actually think it's better to stay on the 401, find a good lane and stick it out. Once you get towards Dixie Road, the 401 will be flying. That's until you exit 403. You can try continuing on to Hurontario but, from my experience, Hurontario is quite slow and busy.

Hope this info helps. Let us know how long it actually takes you.

 

[Paolo]

you can always take the DVP to the Gardiner, then go west, and then the gardiner becomes the QEW, then exit on highway 10 and drive north to burnhamthorpe and wala, your at square one. only other thing i can suggest is taking the GO Transit

 

[nfitz]

you can always take the DVP to the Gardiner, then go west, and then the gardiner becomes the QEW, then exit on highway 10 and drive north to burnhamthorpe and wala, your at square one. only other thing i can suggest is taking the GO Transit

With the southbound traffic on the DVP, and the westbound traffic on the Gardiner from Jarvis to the Humber, I'd be very surprised if this is faster in AM rushhour. Have you had much success with this route? It might make a back-up perhaps if the 401 is closed, and one really doesn't want to go up to the 407.